all i do is dream of you (the whole night through)
by danahscott
Summary: Instead of waking upon Prince Lucas' true love kiss, Maya pulls him into her twisted dream instead, a dream that more closely resembles a nightmare. The clock is ticking. And it's up to Maya and Lucas to save everyone. or, sleeping beauty au, which is basically just maya and lucas dicking around and making out in the woods sandwiched between near death situations
1. Chapter 1

Prince Lucas Friar had just slain a dragon. A dragon from Hell, to be exact, a dragon that was a fairy - or a fairy that was a dragon? It didn't matter, because both were dead. The afternoon hadn't started out so eventful, not in the beginning. Or maybe it was just eventful in a different way. He was meant to marry the princess he was promised to at birth, but he'd stolen away instead to the home of the girl he'd fallen in love with, his peasant girl who he'd seen dancing in the woods, the one who'd stolen his heart the moment he set eyes on her.

Except, he only found her home empty and barren, and an evil fairy awaiting him. He came to in an old dungeon that smelled of moss and dead things, confused and scared. But he hadn't been there for a half hour before three fairies came to him. He'd never met fairies before, though he knew many had lived in the woods, but (according to his father) it wasn't princely to go wandering about unaccompanied in the forest. His most recent encounter with a fairy hadn't been good, but these three seemed trustworthy. Two girl fairies, and one boy, each dressed in a different color.

The one in red, the boy, introduced himself as Zay. The one in green had a soft smile and long brown hair, and she introduced herself as Riley. The one in blue who seemed to be the leader of the group, introduced herself last as Isadora. "But we don't need to waste more time with introductions," she said shortly. "Princess Maya is in trouble."

"Princess…" Lucas wasn't putting the pieces together - sometimes he was a bit slow on the uptake, despite getting good marks in his studies. "Princess Maya?"

Isadora looked even more impatient than she had before. There was a crease between her eyebrows. "The girl you met in the woods. If you want to save her, you must go now." Hearing that Maya was in trouble was all he needed to propel himself into action. He let the fairies guide him to the castle which was surrounded by thick thorny vines, and was being guarded by a dragon. A dragon - princes were supposed to fight dragons, that was basically their whole deal. But even though Lucas was good with a sword, panic began to overtake him.

Before he could completely crumble, though, Zay thrusted an enchanted sword into Lucas' hands. "You're not going to lose, Prince. Not with this."

Lucas felt pale and clammy, but still maintained his manners. "I think you can officially call me Lucas," he said.

Zay smiled, his red aura growing a little stronger with it. "Alright, Lucas. Give Hell back to her."

The fairies seemed to disappear. It was just the dragon, the thorns, the castle that held his peasant girl, his princess, the dancing girl from the woods. The dragon leaned down low to him, her eyes narrowing. When Lucas looked directly into them, his insides ran cold.

_Maleficent_, from the word _Maleficus_, meaning wicked. Lucas had never fully conquered Latin, but that definition echoed clearly in his head as he drove his sword through the beast's neck. The hatred in the creature's eyes seemed to grow more, and for a second, Lucas thought the wound only angered it, but within ten seconds, the dragon collapsed to the ground with a mighty, earth-shaking thud.

Lucas didn't have time to consider the magnitude of what he'd just done before the fairies were ushering him into the castle, only allowing him one spare glance over his shoulder. Funny. It hadn't seemed as easy to kill dragons in all the books he'd read. There wasn't any time to ponder that thought. Perhaps, if there was, he'd have been able to prevent all the events that were about to be set in motion. But Lucas just kept moving, though the nagging thought of the dragon's eyes filling, not emptying remained with him.

When he stepped into the princess' chambers, however, he stopped short. His reward for defeating the dragon would be her - sunlight itself. When he first saw Maya, she was bathed in it, golden hair spinning all around her as she grinned and twirled in the forest, humming an old lullaby he'd heard growing up. And now, she was lying in a bed four times her size, eyes loosely shut, face clean of emotion. It wasn't a look he liked on her, not at all.

He would like nothing more than for her to open her eyes and smile at him again - he didn't think there was anything he wouldn't do. "Go on," Riley said behind him, gently, but with the same edge of impatience that Isadora hadn't tried to hide, urging him to hurry. He would kiss Maya, she would awaken, and the rest of kingdom would awaken with her, and then it would be happily ever after.

The dragon came to mind again, but he waved the thought away. It had hit the ground with a force that shook the earth; surely, it wasn't alive. But the princess was, for now, and she needed Lucas in order to remain that way. He knelt beside her bedside. She looked so beautiful. He tucked a loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear and gently, tenderly pressed his lips to hers.

And then, instead of the princess rising and greeting him he felt himself crumpling, his hand sliding from her face and to the floor. As sleep overtook him and he was pulled into someone else's dream, his last thought was of the dragon he had slain. The eyes that filled instead of emptying. The dragon he was supposed to kill. Had anyone checked if it was really dead?


	2. The Story So Far (As Told By Maleficent)

Once upon a time, there was a different story. The naming ceremony of Princess Maya Hart brought many from near and far to the party, including three wicked fairies, fairies who would grant Maya's parents, Queen Katy and King Shawn, the power they needed to destroy in exchange for the princess herself on her sixteenth birthday. Her parents, preferring a son, had no qualms about this deal.

But the last good fairy, Maleficent, who was not invited to the party, came anyway, to save Princess Maya from a life of destruction. However, her powers were not yet strong enough to take the child under her care now, but she promised to return on the child's sixteenth birthday and stop the evil fairies and her parents from destroying more of the world Maya would come to love so much.

Her parents would spend Maya's childhood decimating enemies, waging war, and punishing the land outside until it grew infertile and foul. But Maleficent would keep her promise. Upon the fairies' return and Maya's birthday, she came back, destroying the fairies and banishing the king and queen to the dungeon, never to see the light of day.

And the world Maya knew, the world Maya had wanted to be granted permission to love, was so destroyed that she and the other survivors of the castle would live sheltered in vines and darkness, under the rule of Queen Maleficent, doomed to remain inside for all their days, while the deadly world lay safely out of reach.

This was the world Maya had now. At least, this was the world as it seemed. But in fairytales, things were rarely as they seemed. That thought hadn't occurred to Maya, for she was no sweet princess and her life was certainly no fairytale. Never mind that there was a world where she danced in the sunlight with a beautiful boy. This darkness was all she knew.

-::-::-::-::-::-::-

It was Princess Maya's seventeenth birthday, marking the one year anniversary of being plunged into darkness, and Queen Maleficent was throwing a ball. Of course, everyone else in the palace could remember the outside, could tell fond stories of the blue sky, and the sounds of birdsong. Farkle, the stable boy, would have the little ones crowd around him as he described every animal that used to be under his care.

Maya hated that she was eaten up inside with envy. She'd been shut away her entire life - she didn't have any stories or memories, apart from the ones captured by looking outside her bedroom window. She would linger at the doorway as Farkle told these stories, pretending to be merely passing time, but she could tell Farkle knew she was hooked on every word. Which just made her annoyed with him in general, because it wasn't him she liked, it was the outside. It was the world that was gone and never coming back.

And now, a ball. A ball and a birthday. Maya had never been one for dances - she liked dancing, not dances - but anything that broke up the monotony of the palace was welcome. Even the words in the books weren't fully formed, with ink bleeding out the bottom and the words all scrambled. A side effect of the evil magic used by her parents. So, Maya spent most of her time drawing with small paints Maleficent managed to provide.

Today, though, as she walked towards her room, humming to herself and practicing a little dance move for tonight, she heard a voice behind her. "Your Highness," said Evelyn Rand, the minstrel who would direct the orchestra during the ball. Her voice was frantic, her eyes wild. Maya found herself a little taken aback - and dare she say a little relieved? Boredom was endless here. Evelyn Rand was nothing if not interesting.

Her clothes were torn, and there were scratches on the sides of her face. Maya furrowed her eyebrows. She was still intrigued, but now worry overcame her. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Outside," Evelyn whispered. "It's still there. It's all still there." Maya shook her head, confused. "Princess, I escaped."

Maya nodded, slowly. Every now and then another member of the palace would breakdown in various ways, madness being one of them. But Evelyn had always seemed so calm, so self-assured. "Maybe you should lie-down before the ball tonight. I can tell Maleficent you're not feeling well."

Evelyn shook her head. "No," she shouted. "No, you're not listening." Instantly, the ominous footsteps of Maleficent's guards sounded. Both women tensed at the noise. "You're the key. It's you. It's all out there." Evelyn grabbed both of Maya's hands and held them in her own, a moment of tenderness that Maya was unaccustomed to. The guards turned the corner. "You have to believe me - it's out there. And it's up to you. Princess, you're the key. It's all still out there!"

The guards ripped Evelyn away from Maya roughly. One of them looked over their shoulder. "We'll handle this, Your Highness. Go get ready for the ball." A princess was not supposed to take orders, and Maya herself was not prone to following rules, but what else could she do? Her hands were still clasped where Evelyn had held them. Maya waited until the guards were out of sight before revealing what the minstrel had placed in her palm.

Maya held it in front of her, slightly breathless, eyes bright with excitement. One brilliant blue feather. Now, _what _on earth could that mean?

-::-::-::-::-::-::-

Maya spent an hour snooping around the barn, sweet-talking Farkle into giving her a tour. He was sweet. Too smart for his job - if Maya ever did become queen, she'd remember that. Anyway, that was where all the surviving animals lived, in the barn. Enough to provide some food - eggs and milk, mostly. None of the birds were blue, none were exotic enough to have a color so bold. The feather burned a hole in Maya's pocket, but she didn't dare take it out.

She didn't dare hope, either. Maleficent had told her time and time again that wishes were only going to hurt her in the end, when they inevitably failed to come true. And yet, a feather. An impossible blue feather. Maya was back in her chambers, pondering this. Wishes were dangerous, but she wished anyway. Just that she could see the outside world. What it looked like now, or even what it looked like before.

Luckily, her feather was tucked away when Missy came in, her handmaiden and best friend. Correction, only friend. Whenever Maya sank into apathy, Missy would always remind her to stay with her studies, to mind her appearance, to greet the members of the palace. Maya didn't particularly like those duties, but a princess needed to learn them nonetheless.

"Are you ever going to save me even a little bit of work, or am I always going to have to get you dressed myself?"

"Hm," Maya said, grinning. "The second one."

Missy sighed, but she was smiling - only for a moment. Missy's smiles never lasted long. "You just couldn't have started without me."

"Well, Missy, there was just so much to do. We all lead very eventful lives here, as I'm sure you've observed."

Missy frowned, disapprovingly, already busying herself with Maya's underclothes. "Don't be sarcastic. It's not fitting for princesses to be so cynical."

"Yeah, well, most princesses don't lead the life I lead. I have every right to act how I want."

Perhaps in retaliation, Missy yanked on the strings of Maya's corset. Maya bit her lip to stop from crying out. "If we all thought like that, then we'd all end up like Lady Ava."

"What's the problem with her now?"

"She's refused the dress you offered up."

"So?"

"So, you don't want contention within the castle, not if you are to be queen someday."

Maya sighed, blowing a strand of hair out of her eyes. She liked Missy, sincerely she did. But Missy could be tiresome. "Maybe she didn't like the color. Or maybe, she just didn't want someone making decisions for her. Most people tend not to like that, you know."

"Sure. It was the color. And the Exile was just a friendly neighboring king."

Just hearing the Exile's name made Maya feel strange and confused. He must be dead by now, but Maya still imagined him wandering the barren woods on the outskirts of the palace, forever. Sometimes, it seemed a better life than hers. No one to tell her what to do, no duties to maintain. Finally, Missy finished lacing up Maya's dress and took a step back, admiring her work. "What do you think, Princess? Up to your standards?"

"Everything's up to my standards," Maya said, but she did like the dress. It was a deep blue, the color she imagined the ocean to be. She remembered her manners that she'd been taught growing up, then, and remembered to thank Missy. Except, wait, she hadn't been taught anything growing up, she'd been abandoned to play with the rats and the dust bunnies while her parents drove her world into the ground. For a moment, the ideas battled for dominance in her mind, leaving her with a headache. But Maya knew the true story, the one Maleficent had told her. Maybe the madness was getting to her too.

"It was kind of the ladies to sew this for me," she said, meaning it. It was a lovely dress.

"It would be kind of you to ask them," Missy said. "Seamstresses need to sew, just like princesses need to dance. If we didn't have our duties, I think we'd all go mad."

Maya felt a shiver run down her spine. She wasn't used to Missy speaking so bluntly. In an attempt to lighten the mood, she said, "And ladies-in-waiting? What do they do?"

"We wait," Missy said, flatly.

Maya sighed, all attempts at humor ignored. "You understand, Missy, that you're my friend, too? Not just my handmaiden. I don't want that to be all you are to me. If you'd like to do something else, you know, you could do that. You could learn the lute. Or you could marry. Whatever you want. You don't exist just to wait on me."

Missy's face took on a strange expression for a few moments, before resettling to its usual cool indifference. "I exist because Maleficent saved me. We could all do well to remember that." And then she left the room without a goodbye, leaving Maya to tend to her hair by herself.

-::-::-::-::-::-::-

The ball came and went without incident. Evelyn was nowhere to be seen. And as soon as it ended, Maya counted the days until the next month's ball. That was all there would be forever, the only thing to ever look forward to. One ball every month, and days of nothing in between. Maya had sequestered herself in her room, just passing the time by sleeping. She was so tired these days. Missy had come in, attempting to pull Maya out of her apathetic haze, and failing. It was only when Lady Svorski arrived in her doorway that Maya sat up.

Something new. Okay.

"Your Highness."

Maya raised her eyebrows but said nothing.

"Don't you think it's time you left your chambers?" Lady Svorski said. Of course, just another attempt from Missy at getting Maya to do her princess duties. Figured. Maya said nothing again. "Princess, I do believe this is for your own good."

"Can you just call me Maya?"

Lady Svorski smiled. "If Maleficent's servants hear me address you as such, I'll get a one-way ticket to the dungeons."

Maya got out of bed, though exhaustion threatened to overtake her again and walked to the doorway so she was an arm's length from Lady Svorski. She made a show of peering around the corner. "I don't see any servants around, do you?"

"Alright. I'll call you Maya if you follow me." Maya stuck her hands in her pockets, running her fingers over the feather. Well, it wasn't like she had anything better to do. Lady Svorski led Maya to the closest study and handed her a cloth and a needle with thread.

"This is what you do all day? Sew?"

"Not all day. At noon, I say my midday prayers, and after that I take care of the laundry. Then, a walk around the castle, maybe review the stores, the greenhouse, though everything is dying in there anyway -"

Maya cut her off. "Do you have every minute of the day planned out?"

"Of course," Lady Svorski said, like it was nothing, like it was obvious. "I would go mad if I didn't." Gently she placed Maya's hand on the cloth. "Try it. Idle hands are good for no one here."

So Maya tried, pulling the needle through the cloth and instantly pricking her finger and cursing under her breath. If Missy were here, she'd kill her. But Lady Svorski just laughed.

"I thought it might go that way." She took the cloth away and traded it for a piece of parchment and some paints. Maya couldn't help the smile that sprung to her face.

"How did you know?"

Lady Svorski placed her thumb under Maya's chin, a gesture of affection that Maya had never gotten, not from her parents, not from Maleficent. "Do you think we don't pay attention? You might want to be called Maya, but you're still our princess."

-::-::-::-::-::-::-

Missy was doing Maya's hair and Maya was letting her. What Lady Svorski had said about idle hands was not to be dismissed. Maya was getting bored again, though, despite her new paints and her new friend. "I don't see why I have to speak at the ball. Why can't I just attend it?"

"Because, you're the princess. Do you think I asked to be what I am now? No. Would you rather be a farmer, or a peasant?" Missy said. _Yes_, Maya thought, but she kept that to herself. "Besides, if you cannot learn to be grateful, then you will never be a fit queen."  
Maya nodded. Missy made a good point, and though sometimes it was hard to get along with her, they were still friends. "Thank you, Missy. I'd go crazy here without you."

Missy looked confused for a moment before pressing her hand to Maya's and squeezing it, a rare moment of affection. "Thank you, Your Highness."

"You know I wasn't lying when I said you could call me Maya."

"It wouldn't be proper."

_Oh well, _Maya thought. _Baby steps. _

-::-::-::-::-::-::-

The week before the ball, Maya was feeling empty again, drained of all gratitude she might have felt. Luckily, Missy seemed to realize her earlier approach had been unsuccessful, so instead, she arranged a tryst between Maya and the stable boy, Farkle. Sneaking around the castle, breaking rules. Now that was more like it. Missy's mask of cool indifference melted away, and she giggled - like, actually giggled. Maya had never seen her do that before.

She grabbed Maya's hand and yanked her through the castle, eyes glowing with mischief and joy. It was a good look on her. But when they reached the doors of the stable, she suddenly stopped. "Don't do anything to bring shame to the palace. He might be handsome, but he's just a stable boy."

Maya laughed. It felt good to laugh. "No shame here. We're just talking. Besides, he's not really my type." It was true that Maya just planned on talking. She didn't have to tell Missy what it was she planned to talk about. The stable - and the entire outside of the palace - was surrounded by thick vines with thorns the size of swords. Even now, the vines made sure there was never any sunlight. They had to rely on their bodies' internal clocks and wonder if they slept at night.

It was a short walk from the south kitchen to the stable, and though Missy had been remarkably kinder lately, it felt nice to be on her own, even just for a moment. Maya slipped unnoticed into the stable, overwhelmed by the smell of animals. She might enjoy petting the sheep, but she didn't know how Farkle could bear being surrounded by them all day. "Maya!" She heard his voice behind her, and spun around grinning. He was the only one in the palace who listened when she told him to call her by that name.

"Farkle. Nice place you got."

"What brings you to it?"

"Oh, you know. Just taking in the fresh air."

"Ha." He took a step closer to her. His face was more boyish up close. "Were everything not, you know, dead, I'd take you around the palace. But this is all I got for you." He looked at Maya, something in his expression shifting. He always seemed to be able to tell what she wanted, even if she couldn't say it herself. "I could describe it if you want. It's different than how they say it in most books - like, the sun is more white-gold than yellow-gold, and the sky is usually blue, but some days it's grey, and others it's white, especially if it snows -"

"You read?" Maya cut his ramblings short.

Farkle blushed and looked down. "Well, I used to. When books worked, that is. I didn't set out trying to be a stable boy."  
"What did you want to be, then?" Maya found herself genuinely interested. He always seemed so cheerful. Sometimes, she forgot that she wasn't the only one who wished for things.

"A scholar. An astronomer, maybe. I thought I could read books, write my own, and look to the stars every night. I've always loved stars. I still do, even if I can't see them anymore."

Maya wished she could remember what the stars looked like. More wishes. The wasteful kind. She shook her head, clearing her mind of everything except the item in her pocket. "I didn't just come to talk, Farkle. I came because I need your help." At this, Farkle looked excited. He raised his eyebrows, silently urging her to continue. Maya, a little nervously, pulled the blue feather out of her pocket and held it up. Farkle was the first person she showed. "What do you make of this?"

He looked confused. "It's a feather, what's the..." Then, he stopped, peered closely and took it delicately between her fingers. "It's a bluebird feather. But - it can't be. We don't keep any bluebirds in the palace. Where did you get this?"

"How do you know it's a bluebird?" She ignored his question. She didn't want to get Evelyn in anymore trouble, though Maya hadn't seen her in weeks.

"When my parents were out plowing, they'd give me some bread and I'd sit outside and read. Except I'd never finish the bread, so birds would come down and peck at the crumbs. All kinds of colors. But there was this bluebird - I like to think it was the same one - who'd sit and stay every day after the bread was gone. But - this feather doesn't look like it was from a cloak - it's too small, and not as perfect as the manufactured ones. Where did you get this?"

Maya bit her lip. "I'm not sure I should say."

Farkle nodded, the disappointment clear in his face. "Oh. Okay. But… if it's from Outside -"

Maya turned to leave. This could get dangerous, and Maya didn't want any unnecessary trouble, no matter how exciting it might be.

"I'm sorry, Maya. I didn't mean to pry. It's just… I'm not a man of very deep faith, but it would be a miracle just to know there were still bluebirds out there. That there was still anything."

She felt herself soften at that. She might spend a lot of time feeling sorry for herself, but there were people who could actually remember outside, who could miss it in a way she'd never be able to, and what right did Maya have to take that joy away from even one of them? So, she surprised even herself, wrapping Farkle in a hug and whispering in his ear, "As soon as I'm sure about the Outside, you'll be the first person I tell. Promise."

"Th-thank you, Maya. You're as kind as you are beautiful," he said in her ear. Maya didn't know if that was true, but she did know that maybe she had a new friend in the palace, and that wasn't nothing.

-::-::-::-::-::-::-

On her way back in, Maya gave herself some time to wander the halls, only stopping when she could hear her Maleficent's voice coming from the dungeon. Maya knew eavesdropping wasn't exactly approved of, but she lingered anyway, listening. "You will die, I will live again. There is no other way out."

"But my baby girl…" Queen Katy's voice sounded. Maya's heart stopped at that voice. The voice of a mother she'd so wanted to love her.

"Your baby girl? Who you abandoned? Who you left to live with fairies for sixteen years? Who you couldn't even be bothered to raise yourself?"

No, that wasn't right. She wasn't left with them for sixteen years, she was supposed to be left with them after sixteen years. She'd lived her life in the palace. Still, she listened.

"We wanted to protect her!" King Shawn said. Where were these parents all her life? Parents who cared? But Maleficent didn't wait for Shawn to defend himself any further.

"Parents don't protect their daughters by sending them away. You could have asked the fairies to put up shields, use runes, anything. You might think of me as an evil monster, and you might be right. But if I had a daughter, I wouldn't let her out of my sight. And I would teach her all I know so that she could defend herself when the time came." Maleficent paused in her little speech. "But maybe you were just waiting for a son to come along, a proper heir. No?"

"That's not true!" Shawn said. Maya heard a dull thud. Maleficent never spoke like that, never. Her rage was always simmering under the surface. Yet, this felt truer than the Maleficent Maya knew. And then the fairy emerged from the dungeon. Maya wasn't able to escape fast enough, and Maleficent looked at her in surprise.

"What are you doing here?"

Maya blanched for a moment before recovering herself. "I was just wandering around. Thinking about the ball. Is the minstrel going to be returning?"

Maleficent seemed suspicious, but betrayed no real emotion. "No. Not yet. We don't need that kind of talk around here. There's nothing Outside. The sooner people accept that, the better." The words were rushed, and clumsy, yet they felt like they'd been practiced thousands of times. Maya knew, because she'd heard that line before.

She thought about the speech the queen had given to her parents. About daughters. She didn't come from Maleficent, but maybe, just maybe, they could become each other's family. That was all Maya had ever really wanted; a family. "Maybe you could teach me your magic. Maybe we could restore the Outside. Make it how it was before my parents destroyed it. Together." She tried to keep the hope from showing in her eyes. Maleficent hated any sort of genuine affection.

But she just laid a cool finger on Maya's cheek, so similar yet so different from Lady Svorski's gesture. "You're just not capable, dear." And then, she walked away, leaving Maya really and truly alone.

-::-::-::-::-::-::-

Maya spent the rest of that day in bed, mourning things she couldn't name. She felt feverish, and cold at the same time. Nothing was right. It was this, forever, and no one would ever love her, not Missy, not Farkle, not Lady Svorski, and certainly not Maleficent or her parents. She would always be alone.

Maya knew she was really feeling ill when three colorful dots appeared in the corner of her eye, like they always did when she got lightheaded - except these weren't silver. They were green, blue, and red. And they were growing. Within moments, Maya could see living things in the middle of the colors. Fairies. Different than Maleficent. She'd heard stories about them, but hadn't dreamed of meeting one. And as they grew, Maya had the sudden urge… to hug them?

Where was this emotion coming from? How sick was she?

The fairy in green, with long brown hair, smiled sadly and leaned forward. "It's time to wake up, Maya. It's time to come home to us." Why were Maya's eyes welling up with tears?

The fairy in blue, with glasses and hair pulled back huffed impatiently. "You're running out of time. Years and hours are tangled here, but both go fast. If you don't wake up now, you're going to lose more people you love, and you're going to lose yourself."

The fairy in red this time, a handsome man with dark skin. "You don't belong here, Hart. It's time to wake up. It's time to do something!"

And then she heard Missy's footsteps in the hall, her throat seizing with panic. "Your Highness? Are you ready for your bath?" But when Maya looked back up, the fairies were gone, as if they'd never been there at all, as if she'd wished them into existence and right back out again.

-::-::-::-::-::-::-

The ball was tonight. Maya was in a lovely dress, spun with beautiful gold. She had to remember to thank Lady Svorski tonight, for she was sure to have taken part in making it. Somehow, this ball felt different than all the others. Something was off. Maybe it was because of what she'd overheard in the dungeons, or the visions that had appeared to her while she was sick, but Maya couldn't keep her mind on the festivities.

She gave her speech on gratitude like the dutiful princess she was told to be and danced with Farkle, laughing the whole time. He was rather funny, and so much smarter than she'd thought. A worthwhile friend. When she was ready for a break, she'd planned to head for Lady Svorski. With all the strange happenings in the palace, she seemed like an adult Maya could trust. But when she looked, all she saw were Maleficent's guards guiding the seamstress out the door.

She danced half a song with Farkle, who seemed to be able to tell that her mind was preoccupied, then she slipped out the door and followed them. Lady Svorski was knowledgeable in the field of medicine. Perhaps she was helping a sick resident. But in Maya's heart of hearts, she knew that wasn't true. That this was something deeper, and awful. The door was opened a crack and she could hear Maleficent's voice inside. Maya pressed her body so she was flat against the wall and peered in.

She'd expected something bad, but not this. Lady Svorski was bound to a chair, Maleficent looming over her, dagger in hand. Before Maya could do anything, Maleficent plunged the dagger into Lady Svorski's body.

The pain of watching that felt like the dagger was thrust through her own body, and Maya covered her mouth with her hand to keep from screaming as Maleficent started chanting. "Magic of the darkest power, Grant me this, but one more hour. I give thee blood for one who sleeps. My body dead, but my spirit keeps alive in her thoughts and dreams - Though to her this world seems as real as the waking one. I will live again, my will be done."

A glowing purple orb floated in the room. An image within became clearer and clearer before, like a reflection, Maya saw herself, in the same palace. It looked strange. Different. Somehow, it looked clearer than reality. And the Maya in the orb was sleeping without breathing, no trace of life on her face. She who sleeps, Maleficent said. So did that mean -

This wasn't real. This whole world - none of it was real. Maya felt like fainting, but she knew she must stay upright. She needed to process what had happened, to puzzle out what it meant, to weep over her losses, but that was for later. Right now, she needed to run. She began to dart out from behind the door and down the stairs when she saw Missy. Missy, her friend. Missy who was saying, "Your Majesty, Princess Maya is -"

Missy who was lifting her skirts, who had a black chain around her ankle, a telltale sign of Maleficent's guards. The betrayal staggered Maya, but only for a second. She didn't have time to consider this. The two girls locked eyes.

"Your Highness," Missy whispered, fear all over her face, a look Maya had never seen on her before. Maya didn't break her stride, but she did make sure Missy saw her face. Knew what Maya knew.

"Traitor," Maya hissed. And then, she bounded down the stairs. Where could she go? Where was safe? Her bed? Under her bed? A broom closet?

No. There was only one place to go. Outside.

She ran towards where she met Farkle just the week before. She wished she could take him with her, but there simply wasn't time. The gown she was wearing was beautiful, but hindering. She hooked her train onto a thorn and ripped it off of her, saying a silent apology to the ladies who sewed it for her. She lay hidden by the main entrance for a moment. There were still guards patrolling the front, and if she wanted to escape, and god, did she want to, she'd have to run exposed to them and their weapons. "Guards!" a voice called out. "The princess means to do harm to herself. Seize her!"

Maya knew that voice. Maya used to love that voice. But she wasn't taking orders anymore. It spurred her into action. She ran the length she needed to, faster than she'd thought capable. Gone was the princess who laid apathetic in her bed. Now, here was a girl fighting for her life. Despite the circumstances, Maya liked this better.

She climbed up the tower overlooking the palace. There was no breaking through the impenetrable vines. She'd have to climb up, to the platform where teenagers often went to get drunk. She could picture herself with Farkle, a little older, passing the time there. With Missy, if Missy hadn't been so rigid. Never like this. She hoped it was still abandoned, unattended. She hoped, but she was wrong.

A guard leapt for her ankles. So, in less than a second, Maya looked at the wall of thorns in front of her, and the long drop that awaited her if she missed. And she jumped.

-::-::-::-::-::-::-

She didn't miss, but she landed harder than she thought she would. The breath was knocked out of her, and her ribs felt bruised. But she was alive. She was breathing. She was safe in the vines and the trees. She heard shouts from the guards but she ignored them and began to climb down.

And then the vines started to move. "No!" Maya cried out as they wrapped around her ankles, but the vines snapped. Easily. Without even a little resistance. Maya didn't pause to think about this. She just kept climbing.

Then the little thorns grew much faster than was natural. She could picture Maleficent on the other side of the thorny wall she had created, murmuring incantations as the ball went on obliviously inside. Everything had been so simple last week. The thorns pierced through flesh, drawing blood, with thick and ragged cuts tracing her arms. There was the sound of screaming all around her. The vines themselves were screaming. And then, they whispered. "There's nothing out there for you. Go back."

They all sounded like Maleficent. The pain was strong but Maya's will was stronger. She kept climbing, until the pain grew too much and then she squeezed her eyes shut and wished to herself. A useless thing to do, she knew that. But she wished these thorns would just disappear. Would go away and leave her alone, just let her be.

And then they receded. Just like she wanted. For a moment, Maya laughed incredulously. How did that possibly work? But she had to move quickly, so she threw herself down, bouncing from branch to branch until she hit the ground with a thud, leaving her vision blurry. But, not too far off, through the vines, Maya could see a faint flicker of golden light - not yellow gold, but white gold.

Bloody in her beautiful dress, Maya dug her hands into the ground and crawled away from the palace of darkness, towards the sunshine.

-::-::-::-::-::-::-

Away in a castle, a kingdom lay asleep, save for three fairies who stood around the bed of the person they loved most in the world. Never mind the boy crumpled on the floor. He would not save them now.

"Two more hours before it's too late," Riley said, looking at Isadora and Zay. Isadora frowned. Moments earlier, Lady Svorski had cried out in her sleep and died in Riley's arms. Riley always emphasized the importance of hope, especially as Maya was growing up, but it seemed that the battle was already lost.

"We have to do something," Zay said, clenching his jaw and pressing a hand to Maya's arm. Not the princess' arm, but Maya, just Maya, the girl he'd watched grow up, the child he'd raised.

"There's nothing we can do now but trust her," Riley said. "We've taught her well. She'll be able to use that.

"Trust her?" Isadora laughed without any humor in it at all. "She can't even remember us."

"I know," Riley said. "But we're still with her. Whether she knows it or not."


	3. The Story (As Retold by Lucas)

**hey, big thanks to everyone who has been reviewing and commenting, i promise i see your comments and they make me very happy! from here on out, it's lucaya all the way, so buckle up!**

Maya didn't want to close her eyes, but after a life of shaded windows and thick vines covering it from view, the sun was blinding. And she was scared to breathe - she knew Maleficent had lied to her. She knew that now. But stories of poisonous fumes and instant death flashed through her mind. But soon enough, her body cried out for air, and she took the plunge and breathed in.

Her eyes opened, and the light was bright, but no longer blinding. Grass was tickling her ankles. She could smell dirt, trees, things that were alive. Alive. That's how she would describe what she felt right now. Everything was so alive, and here she was, a living princess in a living world, a world that had always been waiting here.

She never wanted to live inside again. She took a few staggering steps, and each felt heavier and more important than any steps she took while wandering through the halls of the castle had. Maya heard something as she walked, something she had never heard before, and she tilted her head up to the sound. It was a bird. A bluebird. Oh, Farkle. If only he could see this now.

On a whim, Maya chased it. She was sore, cut and bleeding, caked with dried mud, probably had a few bruised ribs, but Maya had never felt freer. The bird was headed towards a forest. Maya had never been in a forest before. But - that wasn't right. She was right at the lip of the woods, reaching out to touch the bark of an oak tree. How did she know it was an oak tree?

This all seemed oddly familiar. It felt like home. As soon as her fingertips touched the trunk, Maya felt herself falling, onto the soft, firm ground, supporting her as everything around her faded and whirled, twisting into another dream.

A forest just like this. A little blonde girl running through it. Maya. She was the little blonde girl. A cake with lopsided writing spelling out "Happy Birthday, Maya." Three smiling faces beaming down at her. One dressed in red. One dressed in blue. One dressed in green.

They looked like the fairies who visited her in the palace except - they weren't the fairies. They were her aunts and her uncle, who had adopted her after her parents had died, who had raised her in the woods, among the sunshine and the birds and the trees. But Maleficent was her aunt. Maleficent had adopted her and her parents weren't dead, they were evil. That was it.

The images came faster now. Riley singing her a song before bed. A dress made out of leaves and twigs with a wooden tiara to match. A little girl playing princess. Running contests with Zay in which he always won. Lying on the forest floor, sleeping. Picking berries, and almost poisoning herself with them once. Boredom. A lot of boredom. Being told not to go beyond the boulders at the edge of the creek and getting caught trying to do just that over and over. Her family arguing when they thought she was sleeping, about things she didn't understand in either lifetime.

Maya moaned, reeling with pain. It was too much, all of it. All of it was too much. None of this could be true, because Maleficent - Her head was pounding. "Stop," she murmured, wanting a break, needing one. But the memories kept coming.

-::-::-::-::-::-::-

And coming. She must have lain on the forest floor for hours, curled into a ball, holding her hands to her head. But when she awoke, it was with new understanding. Maya remembered when Missy had walked in on her room in ruins one time and asked her, disapprovingly, "Were you raised in a barn?"

Suddenly giddy, Maya wished Missy could see her now. No, she wasn't raised in a barn. She was raised in the forest. And her family was… fairies. And they loved her - Maya hadn't known love in this lifetime, but in the other - she felt so much love she could sink into it. And there was a reason she hated being called Princess Maya. Because she wasn't a princess. She was just Maya from the woods.

She remembered when Isadora had taught her how to make makeshift paints out of different kinds of fruits. When Riley had held her as she cried over her lost parents late at night. When Zay taught her fun make-believe games to pass the time.

And now she was back. The woods looked a little different than she remembered, but they still felt like home. And it was every bit as beautiful as she'd imagined during those long, dreary days in the palace. But if everything here was a dream, how was she supposed to trust what she knew about her family? Could she know anything? Two childhoods ran through her head, and Maya pressed a hand to her temple to try and stop the pain.

There was no way she'd sort it out now. She'd just have to keep walking, further into her forest and further into her memories.

-::-::-::-::-::-::-

She'd been walking for ten minutes before she saw the first sign of life, other than the bird. It was a doe about twenty feet away. It was beautiful, soft brown fur and small feathery ears. Maya took a few steps towards it. She was dying to touch it. As she moved closer, though, she saw that this doe was not alone.

Standing a little farther away was the most beautiful boy Maya had ever seen. (Not that she'd seen a lot. She only really had Farkle to compare him to.) He had short blonde hair, skin that looked golden in the light, a sculpted face that Maya was already itching to draw and - a sword. A sword sheathed at his side. He was going to kill the deer.

"No!" she yelled, running towards him and effectively scaring off the deer and any chance of touching it now. She wasn't going to rediscover the world of the outside only for this boy to come in and destroy it. "Stop it!" She threw herself at him, and then bounced off a little bit, surprised at how… sturdy he was.

He wasn't looking after his lost prize though. He was looking at her like she'd just told him he was about to be named king. Then, he broke into a wide grin. "It's you!" Before she could do anything about it, he had enveloped her in his arms and swung her around, up in the air. "I can't believe it's you."

Maya squirmed, trying to weasel her way out of his grip. She might be little, but that didn't mean people could just pick her up and fling her about whenever they wanted. "Let go of me," she said. He did as soon as she said so, but his joy was undiminished. Maya looked up at him, feeling a strange mixture of emotions. She wasn't sure what was going to come out of her mouth next, but it made sense that it was, "Who the hell are you?"

He took a step back, and so did she. Now, they were standing an arm's length away from each other. She realized that even though he looked like he was made from the gods, she must look like a wreck, bloody and bruised and dirty, her beautiful dress in tatters. Strangely, she couldn't care less about whether this boy thought she was pretty or not. Although now he just looked worried. Maya couldn't tell if that was annoying her more or less than the huggy-grin thing he had just been doing. "You escaped from the palace, then? Are you okay?"

He started to take a step closer, but Maya took a step back and so he sorta just froze in place. "Yeah," Maya said. "I escaped."

The boy said nothing. He just blinked and looked at her as if he was waiting for her to say something. Well, she had all the time in the world, and if he wanted to wait forever, so be it. She wasn't going to break the silence. "Do you - do you remember me?" he said, tentatively.

Okay. That threw her. "No," she said, maybe a bit too quickly. "But memory's tricky for me right now. I remember a lot, but not you. I feel like I'd remember meeting you."

The boy laughed, and Maya was taken aback by the openness of the expression on his face. It reminded her of a grey sky day, when the sun suddenly came out for the briefest flash, shining in between two shifting clouds. It was nice. She didn't want to admit to herself how nice it was. "Well, we did meet, I can promise you that. And I definitely remember you. Not even an evil fairy could make me forget that."

Again, he seemed to be waiting for her to say something. Again, he'd have no luck. But, as a sort of compromise, Maya nodded. Truthfully, she'd believe anything at this point. And maybe she wanted to see this boy smile again.

He did. He bowed, deeply, and Maya found herself both amused and annoyed by the gesture. Another person bowing to her, right after she remembered her childhood in the woods. Clearly, everyone here only knew the Maya from this world. But that line of thinking was quickly interrupted by another one: when he smiled, he looked younger than he was. Softer, maybe. As he straightened up from his bow, he said, "I'm Lucas. Prince Lucas."

Oh. So he was royalty, too. "Well, I'm Maya."

"Princess Maya," Lucas said, grinning.

"Just Maya."

"Okay. Just Maya."

He was still standing some distance from her, and she was glad for that. Maya still remembered the situation she'd first found him in. He might claim to know her, but Maleficent knew her in the other life too. And, there was still a sword sheathed at his side. "Why were you going to kill the deer?"

"Kill? No, I was talking to it."

"You were talking to a deer?"

"Well, it sounds stupid when you say it like that."

Maya raised an eyebrow. "It sounds stupid any way anyone says it."

"Well, if you must know, I was trying to rescue you from the castle. But there's something wrong there. Some sort of magic."

"You're telling me," Maya said under her breath.

"And, I don't know, I was desperate."

"Still not getting the whole deer thing."

"When I knew you, you know, in the real world, you were so close to the animals. Well, the afternoon I saw you anyway, you were surrounded by them. And so I was out of options. Hence, the deer."

"Yes," Maya said, nodding as if that made sense. "Hence." She paused for a minute. Lucas had this weird nervous look on his face that made her feel a little sorry for him. She decided that since there were basically zero alternatives, she'd believe his story. For now. "Okay, Prince Lucas. You were trying to rescue me. How did you know me, then?"

"I didn't," he said, sighing. "I didn't know you. I loved you. And you loved me."

Now, he'd definitely lost her. "I did?"

"We were supposed to be married. I was promised to a princess when I was a baby but on my way to her castle, I saw you. And then, all bets were off."

"What about the princess?"

"What do you mean?" Lucas said, seemingly frustrated. Was it bad that Maya was a little pleased to be getting that emotion out of him? It was either frustration or lovey-dovey nonsense and Maya had to say, she preferred this much more.

"Who was she?"

"She was you!"

Oh. What? Maya was hit with a new wave of pain, starting in her head and running throughout her entire body. "But I'm just Maya. I was raised in the woods by fairies."

"Yeah, your parents gave you up to them when you were a baby. They were trying to save your life." He paused, looked around for a moment and then said, "Well, I guess they were trying to save you from this. Or so I'm told."

Maya blinked. "Or so you're told? I thought you loved me."

"I did. I do. But like I said, I didn't know you."

"So that wasn't just for dramatic effect?" she asked, feeling more skeptical than ever. But he was kind of cute when he was flustered and, well, he was speaking to her really earnestly. Lucas shook his head. "Then, how did we fall in love if we didn't know each other?"

"You really don't remember?" He seemed a little disappointed, but then he smiled at the memory. Maya wanted to know what that memory was, especially if it made him smile like that. "I saw you in the clearing, dancing. I knew then that I loved you. That was all it took." Maya raised an eyebrow. That didn't sound like her. "And you were singing, too. A lullaby. Once Upon a Dream."

Maya staggered back even farther from the prince. She did remember that song. She remembered - dancing by herself because she was bored. Because she was always bored. She could hear the melody in her head, soft and sweet, like something she had made up, but she hadn't made it up, because Lucas had known it. And Lucas - she remembered him too. Coming out of the woods as if she'd wished him into being. Looking at her like she made the sun rise. Taking her into his arms.

Which, whoa. Was apparently what he had just done in the present too. Maya had gone wobbly, like when she touched the tree, except this time he had caught her, his face lined with concern and confusion. Maya winced, not wanting to open her eyes yet. She had never been held like this. She had never really been held at all. His skin was warm, much warmer than hers, and she knew that he was strong just by holding onto him.

She opened her eyes. More gently than the first time, she pushed him away as soon as she felt sure she could stand on her own two feet. Maya could tell Lucas wanted to say something, but he was waiting for her to take the lead. She liked that.

"I remember. Well, I remember something."

His grin was quick and blinding.

"Me? You remember me?"

"A little. You knew me before all this - right before. When I was in the woods."

"With the fairies, yeah."

Maya nodded, slowly. Things were started to make sense, but her head hurt even more after this new batch of memory. "I don't think I knew that. They didn't tell me they were fairies." Lucas stayed silent, probably unsure how to answer that. If only he knew what he wanted to marry into. If only he knew even half of it. Then again, though, he might know more than she did. And he looked strong. He'd probably be useful to have around.

Okay. She decided she'd keep him. Maya started walking again - no clue where she was going, so long as it was away from the palace.

Behind her, Lucas said, "Am I, uh, supposed to follow you? I mean, would it be okay if I did?"

Maya fought a smile. This was way better than the palace and the woods and the endless boredom. Besides, Lucas was cuter than Farkle, or Joshua, or any of the other suitors she'd met. But she wasn't going to let him know any of that. "You can do whatever you want, Huckleberry."

"Huckleberry? What did that come from?"

"I don't know. But it suits you."


	4. Into the Woods

The truth according to Lucas: When Maya Hart was a baby, she was also a princess, and because of this, her christening party was attended by all in the land. Except for one person. A fairy. Maleficent, to be exact. Burned at not being invited, Maleficent placed a curse on her, that when she turned sixteen she would prick her needle on a spindle and die. The fairy, Zay, had given her beauty. Riley had given her song. And Isadora, about to give Maya the gift of wisdom, had been rudely interrupted by the death sentence.

So, she thought fast and changed the curse. Maya wouldn't die, she would fall into a deep sleep, taking the rest of the kingdom with her, only to be awoken by True Love's Kiss. King Shawn, distraught and terrified for the child he had just begun to love, ordered all spinning wheels to be destroyed and sent his daughter to be raised by the fairies in the woods, prepared to wait a long time to get to know his little girl.

That plan worked for sixteen years. And one day, Princess Maya, who was Just Maya in the woods, was singing and dancing in a clearing when Prince Lucas stumbled upon her. She had never seen another person her age, let alone a boy, so she quickly left once he'd seen her, but he promised to meet her that very night at the same place.

Except she never met him, because she'd gone home to her family, to the fairies she had thought were human, only to have a lifelong betrayal uncovered, only to be sent to the palace, abandoned and alone, only to be married to someone she didn't know while the boy she truly loved was elsewhere, waiting for her. And then, she heard the voice of an evil fairy, followed it, and pricked her finger, falling into a deep sleep, just as the curse had once said.

The fairies then found Prince Lucas, learned that he was the same prince who Maya was promised to at birth, who had found her anyway, even as she was hiding, and took that as a sign that he must be her True Love, to which the prince eagerly agreed. Once freed, Prince Lucas looked Maleficent, the fairy-turned-dragon, in the eye - oh yes, she was a dragon at this point - and killed her. He was led to his princess' chamber, the girl he loved both in the woods and in the palace, and he knelt by her bedside and kissed her.

Princess Maya awoke, saw the prince, and was overjoyed. Happily Ever After. The End.

"But that last bit didn't happen. You can't just make things up," Maya said.

Lucas sighed. "No, but it should have happened. Everything else I said was true."

"So you kissed me and got transported here? Into this… whatever this is."

Lucas nodded. They were sitting across from each other in a field, greenery all around them. Maya still had to remind herself to be grateful for the life she was surrounded by now when for so long she was surrounded by dust and darkness and nothing. "You wanna know my theory?" He didn't wait for an answer. "I think when I killed Maleficent, a piece of her went inside you."

Maya frowned. She didn't want to think of Maleficent again. She didn't want to think of anything except for this feeling of safety and peace, and finally, for once, not being bored. But she couldn't do that. If she listened to Lucas' version of things - and it did make sense - then none of this was real, which was strange. The grass tickling her ankles, the wind whistling through the trees, Lucas. It all _felt _real. She had told him earlier of her childhood as she remembered it, the one here, in this dreamscape. She was very careful to leave out the worst bits, because even at the minor details his face wilted with concern. Which was both annoying and nice. And it was annoying that she found it nice at all.

When she looked back up, Lucas was grinning. "What's got you so happy?"

"I just realized. I didn't even know your name. And now, I'm in your head."

"You and a whole kingdom of people. Don't go thinking you're special."

"I am special. You love me," he teased her. Maya liked that he was teasing her, though she didn't like that he seemed to mean what he said.

"Or so you say. But the thing is, if Maleficent is inside me now, why is there an outside? Why not make her lies true and have the Outside be a barren, empty landscape?" Maya was quiet for a moment, trying to think. She'd done more thinking in the last day than she had in her whole life, which was a gloomy thought all on its own. "If part of her went inside me, then maybe this is my dream and she can't control it. And she's just using it. Using me."

Lucas didn't quite meet her eyes as he said, softly, "Or maybe you're stronger than she is. I mean, think about it. In the real world, you grew up here. She can't take that away from you, no matter how hard she tries."

Maya nods. Okay. It made sense. But they could spend a lifetime reasoning out the truth of what was happening to them. Now, they needed a game plan. "I need to find my family again. They appeared to me once before. If I could find them now, they'd know what to do."  
"How would we find them?"

"The cottage where I grew up. Maybe it's here."

And so, they started their journey. Into the woods, and deeper and deeper, this time with a destination in mind. They walked in silence for a while. Maya was still wary about touching any tree, so she stayed a little closer to Lucas than she would've liked. He kept peeking at her when he thought she wouldn't notice, looking out of the corner of his eye and then smiling to himself, like just the sight of her was enough to make him grin.

Maya didn't know how to feel about that. Or any of this. But it seemed simpler than most everything else, so she figured she should try and figure it out, at least, so she said, tentatively, "So… we were in love?"

"Yeah, of course. I mean, we still are." He looked at Maya, a little nervously, and then added, "At least, I am."

"But -"  
"But what? What do you need me to do to prove it, slay a dragon? Hate to break it to you, but I've already done that." He scratched the back of his head. "I mean, I guess I could do it again…"

It took Maya a moment to realize he was joking but when she did, she shoved him. He made a mock wounded expression, and then grinned back at her. Oh. She hadn't even realized she was smiling. "But we only met once."

"Once was all I needed, Maya. I said love at first sight, and I meant it. My mother always told me it was like that with my grandparents, but I never…"

Maya didn't get to hear how he finished his sentence. The word mother had thrown her for a headspin. She was diving into memory again, but this time, it was two memories at once. A memory of sitting in Riley's lap as a child, asking where her real parents were, and a memory from the palace, from months ago, when she heard them in the dungeon with Maleficent. Oh, god.

In the present, Lucas had his hand around her waist, keeping her steady as she swayed. "My parents," was all she gasped out at first. "They're not dead. And they're not evil. My family lied to me. Zay, Riley, Isadora, they lied. I could have - I could have talked to my parents. They knew it was just a dream, and I never even questioned it, I -"

She broke off, taking some deep breaths. She was spinning out, reeling from both the memories that had just run through her and the betrayal she felt from everyone, everything, from the whole fucking world. Lucas had one hand around her waist still, and one hand on the side of her face, forcing her to look at him. Maya was too overwhelmed to push him away. "Maya, you couldn't have known. You couldn't have - hey, look at me."

Maya shook her head. She needed everything to go away, to be quiet for a moment. "Tell me something," she said to Lucas. "Something else. Tell me about the dragon you slayed."

"Okay," he said, nodding. "Well, it was over in a matter of seconds. The fairies had given me this sword, this magic sword, the one I have right here, and they told me I'd be fine, but nothing helped when I had to look the dragon in the eyes."

"You were scared?" she asked, a little surprised. She didn't know why.

"I was terrified," he said. In her memories of the woods, he was just this beautiful boy with a shining steed. He had seemed invincible. But it was nice to hear he was human. He smiled, then, but not his usual grin, this smile felt like it had more inside of it. "You have to be scared to be brave. Otherwise, it's not bravery at all."

"How did you know that was real and this isn't?"

He shrugged. "You just know. You can just tell."

Maya felt herself start to cry, in spite of herself. "But nothing I've ever known has been real. Not in any life. Not my parents, or my family," she said, crying harder now. She started thinking of Missy for no real reason at all, but the words came out anyway, "or my friend, my - my only friend, none of it has been real," until finally, she let Lucas hold her for the first time, let herself fall into his arms, crying for many things - for too many things to count.


	5. Falling

Maya should have left for home hours ago. But the little crevice she'd stumbled upon was so comfortable, and the stars had looked so beautiful from the angle she was curled up in, so who could blame her when she fell asleep? Well, apparently, Riley, Isadora, and Zay could.

"Maya, you had us terrified," Riley said, gently extending her hand to Maya and pulling her up.

"Do you know how many bears and wolves travel these woods at night?" Isadora started diving into a speech.

Maya must have looked scared because Zay shot her a look. They were more scared than they had any right to be. Maya wasn't a child anymore, she was thirteen years old. They should trust her more. Not for the first time, Maya wondered if there was something they weren't telling her. But instead of asking, she merely apologized and let Isadora lecture her the entire way back to their cottage.

Where she would always be, no matter what she wanted.

-::-::-::-::-::-::-

Maya came to on the ground, feeling nauseous and dizzy. Why did her memories have to come with so much pain? As soon as she blinked her eyes open, Lucas was hovering over her, placing his hand on her back and helping her sit up. When he spoke, his voice was light, but his face betrayed concern and unease. "I know we're in the early stages of our relationship, but I think I like you better when you're conscious."

Maya tried to joke back, even though everything was still spinning. "Then I think you fell for the wrong girl." He smiled a little there, and that made Maya feel better. A little bit, anyway. He helped lift her off the ground and to her feet, and Maya was surprised and how sturdy and unwavering he was. He must have been trained well.

After her breakdown earlier, she didn't have the energy to be embarrassed with him. In fact, she didn't have any energy at all. Reluctant to admit this was taking a toll on her, yet knowing Lucas wouldn't make her feel bad about it like Missy would have, Maya said, "Can we take a break?"

They made their way over to a creek. Maya could remember spending hours on end in the palace, imagining what rushing water would sound like. She was still so grateful that she got to know, even if in some secret way, she always knew. Still, Maya was happy to have some water to drink and a way to scrub the blood off of her.

When she was done, she stretched out on the grass, facing the endless blue sky. "So, Huckleberry, I've been thinking about this curse."

"Have you now?"  
"Well, only when I don't have anything better to do. It's just… Why did my parents send me away? If I was only supposed to prick my finger when I was sixteen, then… then why not wait until then?"

"I guess they thought they were protecting you."

"Right. And that worked out so well. The shitty part is I could have spent my childhood with them, even if it meant I'd still end up here, and nothing would have been any different."

Lucas' pinky edged towards hers. "That's true. But think of the fairies. Your family. I mean, didn't you love them? Didn't they love you?"

Maya thought for a moment. They had lied to her all her life, but when she pictured them, their faces, Zay's teasing grin, Isadora's resigned fondness, and Riley's gentle touch, she knew the good outweighed the bad. And she wouldn't have given up knowing them. Besides, she had her whole life to get to know her parents - assuming she woke up soon.

Lucas went on when she didn't say anything. "You know, before my mother died, I only ever saw her at the end of the night to go over recitations. She stopped reading me a bedtime story when I was two. And my dad, well, he's pretty great. But all he ever did was groom me to maybe become king someday, so it feels like my whole life has just been preparing for my father's death. Which… isn't something I love thinking about. Growing up in a palace isn't all it's cracked up to be. That doesn't mean you don't have the right to be upset," he added quickly. But Maya was hanging onto his every word. "You have the right to feel however you feel about this. But the point of everything, no matter how messed up and stupid it was, was to keep you safe. Even if it fails in the end, how you get there matters. Just because it didn't work out for them doesn't mean their intentions meant nothing."

Maya hadn't thought about it like that. Actually, she felt a little selfish now. Just a little. But she liked knowing more about Lucas and his upbringing. Even if it wasn't perfect, it was much more orthodox than hers, and it felt nice to know that normalcy wasn't entirely extinct. She laid back in the grass, shutting her eyes and smiling a little. She could feel the sun pressing against her eyelids.

But after a moment, a large shadow was covering the light and Maya could tell Lucas was leaning over her, even with her eyes closed. It was a struggle to pretend not to notice. Still, ever the polite prince, he whispered, "Can I kiss you?" abandoning all romance with it.

Maya opened one eye, considering him, the way his smile was so subtly playing at the corners of his lips, the way the sunlight had turned him golden. Okay, maybe not all romance. "Is this because I look like I'm sleeping?" she teased.

"I think we've established I like you better conscious. Also, we've tried the True Love's Kiss thing. It didn't go so well. So this is just because. If you'll let me."

Maya opened both eyes now. She didn't try and fight her smile. "I could be convinced." She pulled him to her, until he was on top of her in the grass, and pressed her lips to his. It felt nice to be making the first move, but it felt even nicer to kiss him. His lips were soft and warm, and there was something tender and gentle about the way he kissed her back.

He broke off too soon, breathless and grinning. "We should probably get going. Don't want Maleficent sending anyone after us."

Well. That killed the mood. He rolled off of her and Maya sighed, sitting up. "I guess you're right." Just the idea that people were even able to leave the castle kind of astounded her, but then she was reminded of Evelyn and the Exile. "Before we leave, though. Have you seen a woman wandering around in the woods? Maybe carrying a lute?"

Lucas shrugged. "I haven't seen anyone since I got here. I started to think I was the only one."

Maya slouched a little with disappointment. "Not even a tall man, older? Thick, white beard. Thinks he's royalty?" She looked up at Lucas to see if any of that registered. Apparently this description rang some bells, because his eyes were wide with what seemed like a mixture of emotion.

"What are you talking about?"

"The Exile. Maleficent threw him out of the palace for treason."

"Maya, what was his name?" The urgency in Lucas' voice startled her.

"I can't remember, we never spoke it. Something with a J. Uh, John? James, maybe?"

"Joseph!" Lucas shouted. Maya nodded. "That's my dad. He's been here all this time and… I didn't even think about that. He was in the palace for our wedding ceremony. He must have… We have to find him." He leapt to his feet, pulling Maya up with him.

"Lucas, we don't - we don't have time," Maya said, quickly, but as gently as she could. He froze, turned away from her. "I'm sorry. You have no idea how sorry I am. But the best way to save him is to wake me up before he's stuck here forever."

She was still holding his hand, and some of the tension seemed to subside. But only some. Only a very, very little amount. "You're right," he said, his voice a little cold. "It's the right thing to do. It's the kingly thing to do."

Maya hated hearing him use that word, especially after he'd just told her that he might not want to be king. But she didn't know him as well as she wanted to, and she didn't know her feelings for him like he knew his for her. All she could do was walk beside him and let him hold her hand.

Maybe that was enough. It didn't feel like enough though. Where before the silence had been comfortable, now it felt forced. Suddenly, while walking Lucas froze again, and Maya felt his hand tighten on hers. She had to say something now. "Lucas, I can't even begin to know what you're going through with your dad, I just want -"

"Shh," he said, sharply. "Do you see that?"

Maya peered into the distance. There was some dust blowing in the wind, but other than that, nothing. And then she looked closer. The dust, it was blowing in a circle. Like a tornado, except it wasn't going up, it was going down like - like a sinkhole. Lucas realized at the same time she did.

"Get back!" he yelled, pulling her arm and running. Somewhere in the confusion, Maya felt herself falling to the ground with a hard thud. She scrambled back, away from the ledge. She didn't know what would be at the bottom of the sinkhole, but she really didn't want to find out. When Lucas realized Maya wasn't behind him, he called her name and doubled back. This was really not the time to be noticing things like this, but damn, he was fast.

He scooped her off the ground with herculean strength and threw her over his shoulder, running noticeably slower while trying to carry both their weight.  
"Put me down, Huckleberry, I can run!"

"Didn't seem like it!" he yelled back, but he did put her down. He didn't let go of her arm, though. Almost as soon as she'd started running, her breath grew short, her chest was burning, her legs were crying out for release, but Maya didn't stop and neither did Lucas. Not until they saw where the sinkhole was leading them to - the palace.

Maya made a gamble, then. A dangerous one. More than dangerous, downright stupid. But she didn't really have any other options. She stopped running and shouted, "Lucas, jump!" He looked back for the briefest second, but he listened, leaping ahead as Maya felt the ground open up beneath her.

But before she could fall, there was a strong hand gripping her arm, keeping her from plunging to the bottom. She wasn't the only thing that stopped, either. The sinkhole stopped expanding almost right away. Feeling triumphant, Maya grinned, but Lucas' face was a mixture of angry, shocked, and worried. Right. She was still dangling off a cliff. Forgot that bit.

"Why the hell are you smiling, Maya?"  
"Because I'm right. Do you mind pulling me up now, Huckleberry?"

Grunting, Lucas obliged, and then he turned to her. "Why would you do that?"

"Because," Maya said, "I knew you'd catch me. And now we have more information. She can't kill me. She needs me to keep this dream going."

Lucas clutched a hand to his chest, which was still heaving up and down with what seemed like a mix of adrenaline and exhaustion. "Never do that again."

No promises, Maya thought. But she was too busy thinking to vocalize that. She peered down to the bottom of the canyon. Not as deep as she thought it would be. And then, without thinking, she said, "If she can't kill me, then I wonder what would happen if I died."

"Don't." She heard Lucas' voice behind her. "Don't even think about it."

She couldn't help herself. "It's like you said, though. The last piece of Maleficent went into me, so if I died, maybe she would, too. And maybe everyone would wake up."

Finally, she looked at him, and the look on his face was bewildered and… terrified. She understood why he didn't want her to talk about this, but if it was a potential solution then she had to consider it. Lucas pressed his hand to the side of her face, forcing her to look directly into his eyes. "I don't think that's what would happen. I think if you died during this dream, everyone's world would just go… dark." He paused, sucking in a breath. "I know mine would." Maya tried to look away but the urgency in his eyes wouldn't let her. "And you're not collateral damage, okay? So promise me you won't even give it another thought."

She couldn't promise him that. But she could promise that she'd try everything else first. So she nodded, wordlessly, then looked out at the canyon again. "You know, I don't think I would have dreamed this up."

Lucas looked in the same direction, dropping his hand from her face. Her skin felt colder without his touch. It was clear what they needed to do. They started to climb down. Lucas was a few footholds under her for a while, and she guessed it was to make sure she didn't fall, which was stupid.

She was the one who couldn't die, not him. But Maya tried not to think about that as they were climbing down a cliff. Better to wait for solid ground."You wanna know something?" Lucas said from below her. "Even though this objectively sucks, I think it's ultimately a good thing."

Maya raised her eyebrows, skeptically. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, Maleficent wouldn't have sent this to us if we weren't on the right track. So, I guess we should be expecting more things like this to happen."

Even though it made her stomach pool with dread to think about, Lucas did make a kind of sense. An unfortunate kind of sense. As they climbed, which was surprisingly easy to do, Maya reminded herself of what Lucas did for her. "Hey, thanks for carrying me, Huckleberry. Even if it was a little much."

"Oh, my pleasure. Maybe wear softer shoes next time, though."

She rolled her eyes, though not without some secret spark of fondness. "Duly noted, Your Highness."


	6. Under the Stars

When Lucas said that they'd probably start running into more obstacles, Maya hadn't expected it to happen so soon. But here they were, racing away from strange fairies who had tried to lure Maya with… dresses and vanity? It would almost be funny if one of the fairies hadn't sunk its teeth into Lucas' shoulder. So, for the second time that day, Maya was sprinting faster than she ever had in either life.

But the problem was over before it started. She was the one who spotted the gate, actually, with wards against magic tied to the front. She'd learned about those in her time with the fairies - the good ones, her family. Once they crashed through the gate, the fairies disappeared into flickering yellow light, and then nothing at all. It was almost pretty. She collapsed to the ground with exhausted laughter, and Lucas joined in - well, not with the laughing part, but with the falling to the ground part.

"She thought she could lure me with a pretty dress?"

Lucas shrugged. He did that a lot. "Apparently."

"A whole year, I've lived with her. She must not know me at all." Maya looked up, turning her attention to Lucas, who was poking at his wound and wincing. She knelt beside him, carefully taking his hand and laying it at his side. "Let me." The wound didn't look that deep, just painful. She took the end of her already tattered dress and ripped a long strip off. She didn't know much about first aid, but she'd taken her fair share of tumbles while growing up in the woods. Lucas was still wincing so she figured she ought to try and distract him. "You know, the dress thing isn't that weird, though. I'm not surprised."

"You're not? I mean, it doesn't really seem like your… thing."

"No, I just mean that whenever she wanted to distract me in the palace, she'd send Missy to do my hair or something. I think she underestimates me."

"That's a good thing for us, right?"

"Definitely. Maybe she thinks I'm just a silly little princess. Maybe it's good that she thinks that." Maya finished wrapping Lucas' shoulder as best she could. She might not have wanted to admit it to herself, but they made a good team. And then, off in the distance, Maya could hear music. "Do you hear that?" She stood up, heading in the direction of the sound.

Lucas groaned, getting to his feet. "Probably another trap."

"No, I know that song. I know what this is." And just as she said those words, of course, another memory hit her.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," she heard Lucas say as she started to sway, and then she was gone before she knew she was falling.

-::-::-::-::-::-::-

She saw herself at thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, yelling at the fairies for keeping her inside, for never letting her do anything, for… forbidding her from going to the Berry Moon festival. Telling her it wasn't safe, that maybe she could go in a few years, but not when she was so young. Maybe next year. Maybe…

-::-::-::-::-::-::-

She came to, still standing. Well, kind of. Lucas had caught her. It must have been a short one this time. "You okay?" he said, not as worried as he usually seemed. He was probably used to this by now.

"More than okay. You know what this is?"  
"Some sort of party?"

"No, it's the Berry Moon Festival! And I get to go this time."

Lucas shook his head, but he still followed her. "Maya, it's probably another trap."

"Okay, and if it is, we'll take care of it. This is my dream, isn't it? I want to have something good." And besides, Lucas was not the boss of her. If she wanted to go to a party, she'd go to a party. Plus, even though they'd basically just met, she knew he'd follow her.

Arriving to the party, however, was a little less welcoming than she'd expected. They must have been quite the sight. A bloody prince and princess, strangers to this village, standing in the middle of the square as the music played a few awkward notes and then stopped altogether. But the villagers only asked a few suspicious questions, before hurrying Maya and Lucas away to change their clothes and join the festivities. Lucas objected initially - he wanted them to stick together.

"I think we've established I can handle myself," Maya said, and besides, her ball gown was getting really itchy. There was a girl around her age who introduced herself as Darby and let Maya borrow one of her dresses. Maya instantly felt more at home in it than she had in anything Maleficent had shoved her in during the past year. Darby even helped her get some of the blood and dirt washed off until Maya felt okay. Maybe even pretty.

Lucas looked just as handsome as he had when she'd first seen him. His wound was redressed. But he was frozen again. For a moment, Maya thought something was wrong. And then she realized he was looking at her. "Quit staring at me, Huckleberry," she said.

He grinned, looking down at his feet. "Sorry, Maya. You just… you look like you did when I first saw you."

Oh. She felt her cheeks tinge pink, and she looked down at her feet too. They'd run from blood-sucking fairies and an expanding sinkhole together, and yet, she still felt a little nervous around him. Just a little. And only when he said things like that. Before they could say anything else, though, a little girl with dark hair came up to Maya and reached out a little hand.

Music was playing again and people were dancing. Maya's heart warmed at the idea of spending the night here, dancing like a normal girl. So she took the child's hand, though she could practically feel Lucas' anxiety radiating across the whole town square. But it turned out the girl really did just want to dance with the new princess who had come to visit. Maya twirled the little girl, and then twirled herself, her blonde hair flying out behind her. Who wanted to be a princess when places like this existed?

The song was over too fast, and she ran to Lucas, beaming. He seemed to have relaxed while watching her. "Still think it's a trap?"

Lucas looked up toward the sky. "Maybe."

Maya rolled her eyes. "Well, forget about it and dance with me. Literally everything else here sucks and we both might die any second, so let's have one good night together."

He looked back down at her, a reluctant smile spreading across his face. "Well, when you put it that way." The next song had slowed until it was almost like one of the balls at the palace, but it was so much better, because she wasn't cooped up inside, she was out here, free, with Lucas.

He placed his hand on the small of her back. Her skin felt warmer where he touched her. She leaned in close to him, closer than she'd let herself get the past day and a half. He was so much taller than her that she had to crane her head up to look at him, but when their eyes met, everything else felt so far away, like it didn't matter at all.

And then, she stepped on his foot. Lucas groaned, and then laughed. "Didn't I say softer shoes would be nice?" Maya thought about the shoes she wore growing up with the fairies. She went barefoot a lot of the time, but when she wasn't, she wore sensible hunting boots. They were so much more comfortable than these heels. "How did you do that?" Lucas said, looking down.

"What?" Maya followed his gaze to her feet. Huh. Sensible hunting boots. "Well, it's my dream, right?" She decided not to think too much about it. Not right now. She just wanted to dance under the stars with Lucas.

-::-::-::-::-::-::-

After dancing for half an hour, Maya and Lucas found a stack of hay bales and decided to sit down and catch their breath for a moment. They hadn't really gotten to relax all day. "Maya," Lucas started, but Maya cut him off.

"I know. We should leave soon."

"No, that wasn't what I was going to say," he told her. Maya looked at him. "I was just… why don't we stay here? At least for the night. It seems safe. And I'd like to spend time with you in which we aren't running for our lives."

"Oh, treasure this now, then, because I've got a feeling Maleficent isn't done with us yet." She meant for it come out lightly, but the mood seemed to grow gloomy once the words were out in the open. Maya looked at the party. The sun had gone down and there were candles hanging from people's balconies, making the whole town square look like a fairy tale. The dancing had died down a little. There was a man Maya hadn't seen in the crowd before, walking from person to person, smiling a lot and showing families little bags of… something. She looked to Lucas, who was lying back with his hands behind his head. "Who's that?"

Lucas looked over at the man, but for once, he didn't seem paranoid. "Oh, his name's Ozrey apparently. One of the men in the village was mentioning him to me. He's a touring merchant, goes from village to village trading things."

"Hm." He seemed harmless enough. She'd had a strange feeling about him, but that was probably natural, especially after three near death experiences following a life of being sheltered. So she just watched the dancers, listened to the music, and relaxed.

Maybe five or ten minutes later, Ozrey made his way to Maya and Lucas. "Something for the princess?"

Maya looked to Lucas, but she found him fast asleep, snoring softly. He looked younger when he slept, and peaceful. She decided not to wake him. So she stood up and went over to the merchant, leaving Lucas a few feet behind her. "I've got nothing to trade."

"That's okay," Ozrey said, grinning. "You can look."

Truthfully, Maya didn't feel like browsing through this stranger's stuff, but Riley had taught her to always be polite, and she didn't have anything better to do. "Okay, what have you got?"

"Well, in these bags, I have spices of all kinds."

The man couldn't try and be less boring. Oh, well. Maya would listen for three minutes, then maybe she'd take a nap too. She couldn't remember the last time she slept. First, he showed her mint leaves. He held the bag up for her to sniff, which wasn't actually the worst experience. Knowing what she'd done today, she probably smelled terrible, like a combination of sweat and dirt and blood. The next bag was cinnamon, a rare spice from her neck of the woods. Finally, he showed her anise. And though Maya had had a pleasant experience smelling nice herbs, she was glad it was over. She might be a princess, but she wasn't really a people person.

But Ozrey looked at her for a moment, his eyes twinkling. "I have one more surprise, just because I like you." Maya raised her eyebrows, but stayed where she was as he dug into his cart for a purple bag. When he opened it, Maya was overwhelmed by the smell of cherry, far stronger than any of the other smells he'd shown her.

Behind her, she heard Lucas' voice as he started to wake up. "Maya," he said, blearily rubbing his eyes. "What's going on?"

"Nothing, Lucas. It's just Ozrey, the merchant you were telling me about. He's just showing me some spices." She turned back to Ozrey who was still grinning. "What makes this one special?"

"It's special because it's very, very rare. Here," he said, lifting the bag, but Maya put her hand up to stop him.

"No need. I can smell it just fine."

"Oh, but the best way to truly experience the spice is this way. Let me show you."

Maya raised an eyebrow, trying to figure out how to politely excuse herself. She was starting to notice how stilted his speech was, how he didn't seem to talk like a real person. He had a spoon and he was scooping up a bit of the spice, which was an almost glowing purple. He dumped it into his hand, held it to his mouth, and - blew into Maya's face.

She didn't breathe in much, just a pinch, before she was roughly shoved to the ground, coughing and dizzy. She watched the rest of the glittering dust dissipate into the air, but when Lucas stabbed Ozrey through the middle, that had her full attention. For a moment, Ozrey looked human. And then, he slowly started falling, melting, black blood staining the ground and sinking into the earth. Lucas didn't watch him - it - die. He ran to Maya.

"What was that?" she said.

He helped her to her feet. "It's used for hypnosis. It's very powerful, and many palaces use it for war." As soon as Maya was standing, he started pulling her along, away from the village and the lights. She didn't question it. "My father, though, he didn't believe in it. He banned it. But I recognized the smell."

"Another one of Maleficent's demons?"

"Looks like it."

Maya sighed, her head feeling cloudier. Lucas was gripping her tightly, not hurting her, but making sure she couldn't get out of his grasp. The village was already fading behind them, and Maya felt a pang of sadness that she couldn't say goodbye to Darby. "Lucas?" He didn't stop. "I think I breathed some of it in. Just a little. A really little amount." She laughed a little, nervously. "That's probably nothing, right?"

"No," he said. "That just means it'll be temporary. Maybe an hour. Maybe two."

"But the effects will be diminished?"

Finally, he stopped, facing her. Maya hadn't even noticed they were running. Her mind went from leaving the village to arriving at the lip of the woods again. She could still hear the music behind her, though. "The effect stays the same."

"So what does that mean?"

"It means that any second now, I suspect you'll start fighting me tooth and nail to try and get back to the palace."

Dread pooled in Maya's stomach. Lucas' face reflected how she felt. "So what do we do?"

Lucas bit his lip, thinking for a brief moment. Every second that passed Maya felt less and less herself. "You know the fairies told me that when you wake up, people will call you Sleeping Beauty?"

Maya shook her head. "Why are you telling me this now?"

Lucas frowned, placing his hand behind head, stroking her hair, just a little. It felt nice, but in a faraway sense. Like he wasn't there and she wasn't there, not really. Like she was just watching herself from above. "Because," Lucas sighed, "I'm afraid it's a really fitting name." And then, at the nape of her neck, she felt a sharp pinch, a rush of gratitude for her prince, and a peaceful plunge into darkness, before the dust could completely overtake her.


	7. Seeing Double

Maya came to (for the millionth time) on some hay bales in a barn. She could tell it was a hay bale right away because she could feel the straws scratching at her from underneath her dress and she could tell it was a barn because, well, where else do you find hay bales? She felt the whispering of a dream tugging at her, but she could only remember the shape of it, and that it was not a nice one, and that was all.

Maya didn't even want to try and consider the philosophical implications of a dream within a dream. It took a moment before she could piece together the rest of the evening, and she grimaced at the memory. Oops. Guess she made the wrong call on that one. She hoped Lucas wouldn't be too mad, or well, however he reacted to this kind of thing. It had only been a couple of days together, after all, and though it felt like longer, Maya still didn't know him that well.

Speaking of Lucas. Maya rolled over, peering at him on the hay bale. He looked like he'd fallen asleep by accident. His head was propped up on his hand, like he'd been watching her. Oh god, he probably was. That would be just the kind of thing he'd do. And Maya couldn't blame him, especially after the disaster he'd carefully averted the night before - or, however long ago it was. She wanted to know how long she'd been out, but she didn't want to wake Lucas to ask him and face a well-deserved "I told you so."

Besides, he looked sweet when he slept. She could almost remember loving him. Maya had the sudden urge to kiss him awake, but instead she moved her attention to the sword he'd left between them - he was trying to be a gentleman, she was sure, but this was a serious hazard. Delicately, so as not to wake him, she picked it up and felt the weight in her hands. Not as heavy as she thought it would be. And there was a little nick on the left side. Maya wondered if he'd gotten that while fighting the dragon. Maleficent. The dragon who was Maleficent.

She sighed, setting the sword down on the ground next to her, apparently louder than she'd thought, because before she knew it, Lucas was stirring beside her. "You're awake," he said, sitting up, rubbing his eyes. His hair was all spiky and ruffled, and okay, yeah, Maya could kind of get the love at first sight thing. Kind of.

"So are you, Sleeping Beauty," she said, using the nickname he'd given her last night. It was a little much for her taste, but it rolled nicely off the tongue. "I got the memo now, loud and clear," she said, before Lucas could I-told-you-so her, "no more parties."

Lucas ran his hand through his hair, making it even more ruffled. "Can we not joke about last night for a second? I need to… I need to get it straight first."

Maya said nothing. It seemed they were doing the I-told-you-so thing after all. She didn't like how worried he seemed - they'd escaped in one piece, and Maya would call that a success. But she didn't bring any of that up.

After a long moment, Lucas looked at her again. "Are you okay?"

Maya blinked, and then nodded, slowly. "Yeah, fine. Actually, it felt more like sleeping this time. It was nice. Where did you learn that neck thing?"

Lucas looked like he didn't enjoy where the conversation was headed, but he gave in. "Combat training. It's mandatory for a prince. Never wanted to use it on you, though."

Maya shrugged. "Came in handy. How long was I out?"

Lucas scratched the back of his head. "Only a few hours, I think."

There was a longer pause, then, and Maya knew what she'd wanted to say to him since she woke up. She just didn't like talking about her feelings. Still, what he'd done had called for it, and he was being open with her. The least she could do was try to return the favor. "Thank you for doing that. I know it must have been hard for you, and I just… I don't know what I'd do if I had to do all this alone."

Lucas didn't say anything, but his cheeks turned red and the corners of his mouth tugged upwards, just a little. Then, before either of them could say anything, his stomach loudly growled. Maya laughed. "Hungry?"

"Yeah, you could say that."

Maya peered down at her shoes, her new, sturdy boots, then thought of the thorns shrinking underneath her touch. So she held her hands out in front of her. "I want porridge."

Lucas looked around like he didn't know what to do. "We can probably find something to eat in the woods. Also, porridge? Out of all the foods, that's the one you -"

"Shut up. I'm trying to concentrate." Maya closed her eyes. "This is my dream. I wanted boots, I got boots. And now I want porridge."

"Right, that bit makes sense. But porridge? Not eggs, or, I dunno, panca-"

"Huckleberry, I swear to god, if you don't shut up right now…" She trailed off, trying to conjure the image of porridge, warm in a wooden bowl, with roasted acorns in it, like Riley used to make for her. She felt the warmth fill her body, then her hands, as the smell of cinnamon wafted around in the air.

When she opened her eyes, there was porridge in her hands. Lucas' eyes were wide and impressed, and Maya was impressed too. Maybe living in a dream wasn't the worst thing ever.

-::-::-::-::-::-::-

Maya's feet were killing her on the walk over. "We could steal a horse," she'd said earlier. "We'd get where we were going much faster."

Lucas had looked at her, surprised. "No, we can't. That would be wrong."

"But it's just a dream. We're not actually taking somebody's horse."

"It still wouldn't be right. It doesn't always matter what the outcomes of our choices are, it just matters what choice we make," he'd said, solemnly. Maya had rolled her eyes at him and called him Moral Compass, but secretly, what he said made sense. Nothing else in this world made sense right now, so maybe it was important to stay themselves, and maybe that might mean doing the right thing, even if it meant that her feet would hurt.

And man, did they hurt. The walk over was not without snags. By the time the forest filled with fog and they realized it was one of Maleficent's traps, Maya and Lucas were almost resigned to it. Another one. Again. Whoop-dee-do.

It ended relatively quickly, especially now that Maya knew she could manipulate the dream. When one of Maleficent's demons leapt out at her, she'd already summoned a sword (with a nick on its left side, just like her prince's) and run the monster through. She could barely find Lucas in the thick darkness, but he'd yelled at her to think about wind. As soon as the idea registered in her head, she'd cleared the fog away.

Within five minutes, the problem was gone, and Lucas, riding that adrenaline high probably, grabbed Maya by the shoulders and kissed her without asking if it was okay for once, and Maya grinned once he pulled away. She liked the bold look on him. She didn't even make fun of him when he suggested they continue holding hands just in case, for "safety purposes."

Safety purposes, my ass, Maya had thought. But his hand was warm in hers and she liked that, so she didn't call him out on it.

"A princess and a monster slayer. I didn't think it was possible to like you even more than I already did," he had said. And if Maya noticed his careful avoidance of the L word, she said nothing but a silent thank you in her head for him. He was really starting to understand her. And, well, they did make a great team.

-::-::-::-::-::-::-

By the time they decided to settle down for the night, Maya was finally starting to think that maybe they could actually do this. Get to her cottage, defeat Maleficent, wake up and then… figure out what they meant to each other. Maya knew what Lucas wanted. And she was really starting to think that she wanted that, too, or at least she could learn to want it.

On another note, maneuvering her dream was getting easier and easier - and a little fun, too. She was able to start a fire to keep them warm and conjure up two more warm bowls of porridge - Lucas wrinkled his nose, but thanked her anyway. Then, he did something strange. He asked to see her sword.

Maya shrugged, handing it over. He compared it with his, smiling. "A perfect copy. How did you do that?"

"I don't know. I've never paid attention to swords, not even yours. Not really. Well, not until you left it between us last night."

"Yeah, well, that's because I never wore it openly. Too dangerous."

Maya laughed. "Too dangerous to wear a sword where you could get to it quickly."

"I know I seem so rugged and mysterious, Maya, but I am still the son of a king, and so I carry the sword of a prince. If a band of highwaymen saw me with it, I'd make a tidy piece of ransom."

Maya nodded. That made sense. "So that's why I never saw you with it when…" She trailed off, trying to bring up the memory of him in the woods, from their other life. Their real life. But she couldn't bring it to her mind, and this time, it wasn't because of Maleficent. "I never saw you with the sword," she said flatly, "because you kept it hidden." Lucas' face was frozen, the face of a prince who was just caught in a lie. His jaw was clenched and his eyes were wide and it would almost be funny, like a little kid taking an extra cookie out of the cookie jar, if it weren't for what Maya just realized. "You never told me you were a prince."

He said nothing, waiting for Maya to go on, but Maya just crossed her arms. He was going to have to explain himself. "I was going to."

"Yeah? When?"

"That night! The night were going to marry! But -"

"Why wait? Why not tell me right away?"

"Because - because you can't tell people who aren't royalty that you're a prince. If people know you have royal blood, they think they can get something from you. That's why princes don't marry peasant girls, not even beautiful ones they find in the woods."

"And you thought I would do that?" Maya forced him to look her in the eye. He seemed confused. Like he didn't get why this was such a big deal. He didn't get anything. "You told me you loved me the moment you saw me, Lucas. You don't lie to people you love!"

"I didn't lie, I just didn't say anything."  
"Same difference." Finally, Maya looked away. "You were the only one who hadn't lied to me," she said in a quieter voice. She felt her eyes sting with tears in spite of herself. She didn't want to cry in front of him. She didn't want to even look at him. "Everyone, my whole life, has lied to me, even you. You're just like the fairies. You're just like Mal -"

"Don't say that. Please don't say that, Maya," he said. She didn't. It wouldn't be fair to compare him to her. But her chest still felt tight and everything felt black and angry inside her head. Lucas kept talking, even though she was turned away. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have - I should have trusted you. And I didn't care that princes didn't marry peasant girls, I was going to marry you anyway. Because I loved you. And that's not a lie."

Maya didn't bother acknowledging his speech. She was so tired. She was goddamned tired. Couldn't she just rest? Why did the fate of everyone have to fall on her shoulders? She didn't know how to handle that. And yes, maybe Lucas was right beside her, but right now, she felt truly alone for the first time since she'd found him talking to the deer. "I'm tired," she said. "Put both swords between us tonight."

She laid down, still turned away from him, and felt the tears slip out against her will, rolling down her nose and dripping onto the ground until they were finally stopped by the warm wave of sleep.

-::-::-::-::-::-::-

When Maya woke up, she felt a little better. Only a little. And only because the way the sun was shining through the trees made her wish she still had her paints so she could capture the exact shade of green the leaves were. She wondered if Farkle liked colors, considering he paid so much attention to the color of the sun.

At least he never lied to her. As far as Maya knew, anyway. They'd only had a conversation and a half, so he hadn't had much opportunity. Knowing her, though, it would only have been a matter of time. Clearly, Lucas hadn't forgotten the fight from last night, because when Maya glanced at him he was looking at her, trying to smile in a way that seemed charming. "Have you forgiven me yet?"

Maya wrinkled her nose and looked away, hoping that would be answer enough. "Let's just go," she said, sitting up. Lucas didn't move though.

"I was thinking we could kiss and make up first."

Really? That was what he was thinking about right now? Maya felt a pit form in her stomach. Was this really how Lucas reacted when confronted with even a little rockiness? Well, besides the whole life-and-death thing. But this was a different kind of difficulty. This was a fight. And he thought he could just kiss it away. Maya guessed it was better that she found this out now rather than later, but she couldn't help the disappointment sinking in. She'd somehow, stupidly, hoped he'd be different.

Whatever. She needed him to finish the mission. That was all this would be about anymore. When Maya didn't answer him, Lucas groaned and sat up. Then, Lucas came striding into the clearing, holding a fish on a string. "I was going to get you flowers, but, uh, I couldn't find any, so since I figured you'd be tired of eating porridge, I thought for breakfast, we could…" He trailed off when he saw who was with Maya.

Lucas-on-the-ground stared, mouth wide open.

Lucas-with-the-fish dropped the fish and drew his sword.

Maya just gaped at the two of them. Ground Lucas leapt up and stepped in front of Maya. "Get behind me. It's another one of Maleficent's demons."

"What?" Fish Lucas said. "No. No, he's the demon." He pointed his sword in the direction of Ground Lucas, who laughed, humorlessly.

"I was here sleeping next to Maya all night. You just came walking in."

"I couldn't sleep because of our fight, so I got up early and went fishing."

"And she somehow slept through that? Maya, he's lying."

"No," Fish Lucas said, sword still raised. "I'm not. Get away from him."

Maya didn't know what to think. The fish thing was weird - Maya didn't think princes were taught how to fish. But was Ground Lucas acting like the Lucas she had gotten to know over the past few days? As soon as the question crossed her mind, Maya dismissed it. She didn't know who Lucas was, except for a liar. She backed away from both of them. "Okay, tell me something." She racked her memory for something only Lucas would know. "What kind of flower did you give me the day we met?"

"Jonquil," Ground Lucas said.

"I don't know!" Fish Lucas said at the same time. "I never learned that stuff, I just saw that it was yellow and… I dunno, it reminded me of you." Maya could tell even he knew that sounded like a weak argument.

But her mind wasn't any clearer. Maybe the demon could remember everything because Maleficent was in Maya's head. So maybe she had to go earlier back, to Lucas' childhood, where Maleficent couldn't reach. "Tell me something about when you were a kid."

Fish Lucas started. "My father gave me a wooden nickel for being the first of his children to successfully ride one of the sheep from the barns. It was a contest he held for the kids of the village every year."

Maya looked at Ground Lucas expectantly, but he just shook his head. "That's true, but it doesn't matter, because I could make up anything and you wouldn't know. I haven't gotten the chance to tell you all the things I want to tell you yet."

He was right. Maya didn't know what to do, she genuinely didn't. Because if she got it wrong - that was a risk she couldn't take. She tried to think of something they both knew, somehow. "Tell me about King Joseph. Tell me about your dad." Maya still remembered the Exile, too rebellious for his own good, but speaking the words that everyone truly, deeply, secretly believed.

"Loud," Ground Lucas said. "Opinionated. Pompous."

"Hey," Fish Lucas said, clutching the sword tighter. "He's still your dad. I mean, my dad."

"What does he look like?" Maya said, grasping at straws.

Ground Lucas shrugged. "He's old."

Fish Lucas made a noise Maya could only describe as a growl, which was the closest hint to a demon she'd gotten so far in this conversation. "I said, enough!"

Then, he lunged. Ground Lucas had apparently anticipated it because he blocked it quickly. But as soon as that first strike was made, the fight was on. It was strange, because they were so well-matched. It seemed impossible that either could wound the other because they always knew which move was going to be made. Maya had lost track of who was Fish Lucas or Ground Lucas, but it turned out wounding was possible. Each blow and cut felt like it was happening to Maya herself. She couldn't just watch this happen - one of these princes was the real Lucas and he was getting injured and Maya was just standing there. But there was nothing she could do to stop them. She was scared right now, she was really, truly, properly scared. There was no one here with her to fight this battle because Lucas _was _the battle. Oh god.

It felt like each heart-pounding second was its own little eternity as she watched, praying that neither Lucas made a fatal blow, but finally they broke apart, both looking a little worse for the wear, but nothing bad enough that Maya needed to worry. Yet. "I can't, Maya. It's Maleficent's magic. It's too good. You won't be able to trust either of us."

The other Lucas dropped his sword at his side, panting. "He's right, you can't trust either of us, but not because of Maleficent." He held Maya's gaze. "It's because you can't even trust the real Lucas. Because I lied to you. Because… even if I had good reasons, even if I loved you, I lied to you and you can't trust me. And…" He looked away, closing his eyes for just a moment, "maybe you'll never be able to trust me again. So," Lucas said, swallowing thickly and meeting her eyes again. Maya could feel the urgency in his expression. "You have to go. You have to finish the quest by yourself. I'm not the only who needs you, Maya. Go."

She took a few steps back but she didn't turn away. Her heart felt so, so heavy, and stinging, like he'd run her through with the sword. He was right. And maybe it was as it should be - she'd been alone all those years in the palace, and all those years at her cottage. In every lifetime she could remember, she'd been alone. She'd been the only one she could trust.

The other Lucas was shaking his head, mouth opening and closing again, like he couldn't think of what to say. Finally, he settled on, "But… I love you. I want to be with you. I want to keep you safe."

The first Lucas remained firm. "I do want that, Maya. This is the hardest thing I've ever done, but I'm doing it. Go now. Defeat Maleficent. Go!"

And, because even now she listened to him, she turned around and started walking. She hoped they wouldn't starting fighting until she was out of earshot, because if she heard Lucas get hurt she didn't know if she'd ever be able to leave.

As she walked away, there was his voice behind her again. "I stole my mother's pearl earring!" She didn't stop walking. But she heard him. "Because it was pretty and I wanted it. When she died, and my father found it, he asked if I stole it for a memory of her, and I lied and said yes so I'd be forgiven."

Maya shook her head, knowing the best thing to do was continue. But when she spun around, she saw Lucas, the first Lucas, the one who had told her to go, speaking. Now she was really confused. He looked like he was having trouble getting the words out.

"When I was thirteen, I had a friend who was getting picked on, so I beat up the guy who was picking on him so badly that he was permanently scarred and - and my dad exiled him so no one would know because I was a prince, and princes got away with that kind of thing. I had nightmares about it for months."

"What are you doing?" The other Lucas said. "Why are you telling her that?"

"Once I found a mouse in my room and I brought my cat in and let her play with it until it was dead just to see what would happen. And I cried about it. I went to confession and everything, but I still did it."

"Why are you saying this?" Maya finally shouted. Lucas - the first Lucas - looked surprised, but then he did something that surprised Maya. He smiled. Maya walked toward the two Lucases, even though she knew it was a bad idea, even though she should be running the opposite direction, but up close, she could see tears in Lucas' eyes, even as he smiled.

"Because nobody else knows any of this. And I trust you with these secrets, and I want - I want more than anything for you to be able to trust me too. I know I lied. I know I can't make that up to you with one speech. But from now on, I will never lie to you again. Go, now, save your kingdom. But if you succeed - and you will succeed - and I am still alive when you wake up, I will spend the rest of my life doing what I need to do so you'll forgive me."

The other Lucas opened his mouth to respond. Maya took that opportunity to drive her sword through his chest. For a moment, Maya thought she'd gotten it wrong. The look on Lucas' face - horror, confusion, pain - reflected everything she felt as he fell to the ground, watching the boy she - watching her prince die. And then the crimson blood turned to black, and his human groans turned to hissing until all that was left of Lucas was dust.

The real Lucas was pale. His own sword dropped to the ground with a clatter. And then he threw his arms around Maya, hugging her so tightly that it hurt. Her heart was in her throat, and her whole body was shaking, and she was glad that he was here, solid and breathing in her arms, because if she had been wrong - thank god she wasn't. Thank god she wasn't finishing her quest alone. She really didn't know if she could do this without him by her side.

And his lie still stung, but it was a dull ache, tied in closer with her family's betrayal and Lianna's lies, less about Lucas and more about her past. Because when she thought of Lucas, when she held him like she was holding him now, all she saw was her future.


	8. Void

Maya didn't really know how to act around Lucas right now. After all that just happened, after driving the sword through him - not him, not really, but the look on his face when she did it - they didn't speak while walking. But they didn't let go of each other's hands once. Just having him near her in a way she could feel, and understand, helped a lot.

She wasn't really mad anymore. Not in a way that counted for much, anyway. But Lucas didn't know that yet, and his eyes kept darting towards her, then nervously darting away. Maya started having another one of her spells as they got deeper in and she recognized the forest surrounding her cottage, but it was only a little one, and she didn't even fall. Of course, Lucas still offered to carry her, but when Maya looked at him with an eyebrow raised, he smiled a little and let it drop.

And it was getting harder to walk. Whereas before she and Lucas only had to worry about running into a trap, now they were trying to navigate up rocky hills and down jagged paths. It was a proper hike. Maya was starting to wish she'd been able to eat the fish Lucas - the real Lucas - had caught this morning, because she was pretty sure some protein would help with her endurance. She'd tried to maneuver the path around with her mind, but all she'd gotten were some shifting rocks and one uprooted tree.

Lucas had gently said to her, "We're going into the deepest part of your mind. I don't think it's supposed to be easy." It was the first thing he'd said to her since - since he'd watched her kill him. Maya wondered if that changed things between them. She supposed she could be the first one to reach out for a change.

She tried bringing up what seemed to be his favorite memory of them. "This is near where we met, isn't it?" But when she looked up at him, he wasn't looking at her. He was staring straight ahead at - a little girl, ten feet down the path. Huh.

She had blonde hair that went past her shoulders. She looked about six. Her clothes, though, were strange. She was wearing a ratty grey smock that didn't even reach her knees. Her ankles were caked with dirt. But on her head sat a crown that didn't quite fit yet. She stood perfectly still. Everything in the forest around her seemed grayer and dimmer. Maya took a tentative step towards the child - not even a step, a half step - but Lucas yelled out in desperation before she got any farther.

"Kill it! It's a demon!" Maya had never heard him so urgent, not once, which was strange because they'd had a lot of situations that lent themselves to urgency. This didn't seem to be one of them.

Instinctively, Maya grabbed him as he raised his sword. It was still a little girl. And even though he was probably right about the demon thing, the child seemed achingly familiar. Like a dream Maya had once and hadn't realized she'd forgotten. The girl smiled, and giggled which was maybe the creepiest thing Maya had ever seen. Then the child said, "It's all right. He couldn't have touched me anyway."

This clearly did not soothe any of Lucas' worries and Maya didn't stop him when he lunged for her the second time. And then a third. And a fourth. It wasn't that the girl was dodging his blows. She was flickering like a candle, giggling the whole time like this was just a fun game of hide and seek. When Lucas finally realized it was futile, he fell back.

"I told you. I said already. You can't touch me, Prince Lucas."

A muscle thrummed along Lucas' jaw. "I don't intend to touch you." His hand tightened around his sword.

The girl didn't seem scared. "Not everything in here is a demon, you know. Or, rather, not everything is a demon of Maleficent's making." She was strangely eloquent for being so young. The words sounded clumsy and wrong in her little girl voice. "Some things are from Maya's own mind."

Maya's breath caught. What did that mean? Nothing good, she was sure. Lucas seemed to share that sentiment, and he turned to her, only slightly, still keeping one eye on the child. "From your mind? What does that mean?"

Maya shook her head. Something was wrong here. Something was very, very wrong. She didn't think. She just raised her own sword and charged, letting out a scream she hadn't planned on making. The girl didn't flinch or run away or flicker, even. Suddenly, she had a sword in her own hand. A wooden one, like a toy. But when it collided with Maya's steel blade, it made a big, booming sound, and it didn't splinter even a little bit. Maya was sent reeling back a few steps from the impact.

Sore and unsteady, she raised her sword again and the girl laughed. It felt like the sound was ricocheting around Maya's head. It hurt. "Are you sure you're up to this?"

The sword was so heavy to hold up so high, and Maya had been walking all day. She could strike again, but what would be the point? Whatever this was, she and Lucas couldn't defeat it. She dropped the sword to her side.

"Maya, kill it! It's not a little girl."

"I know," she said, flatly.

"It's okay," the girl said, the smile never leaving her face. "You've only killed one other person. You just can't do this."

Maya squeezed her eyes shut. She knew what the demon was talking about. She couldn't stop seeing the look on his face. Lucas seemed to know what it was talking about, too. "That wasn't a person, it was a demon. It just wore my face, that's all." He was saying it for her, just for her, but the little girl tilted her head as if considering it, and then looked back to Maya, as if considering her.

"You seem a little tired, Princess." As soon as the child said those words, Maya collapsed to the ground. The girl was right. She was exhausted. It was too much, all of it, and she couldn't - she didn't want to do it anymore. The ground felt soft beneath her. She didn't want to kill the little girl, not really.

Lucas blinked, frozen in confusion for a moment. Then, he charged at the girl again, trying to take her by surprise maybe? Maya wasn't paying too much attention. When the girl flickered again, Lucas' momentum flung him to the ground. He was up within moments. Maya was a different story.

The part of her brain that was still working ordered her to get up, get the job done. She managed to lift her head before the little girl said, "No, stay there. You look like you could use a little lie down." And Maya was back again.

Lucas clearly didn't understand. "Maya, what are you doing? Get up!"

"Can't you see she's done in?" the girl said. And with those words, a wave of sluggishness washed over Maya. Just like the grey days in Thorn Castle and the cottage, when she couldn't move, couldn't get out of bed, could only look out the window, unable to sleep and wishing to die.

"Maya, I don't understand. Why are you listening to her? Just get up, please, Maya. Please!"

For the first time, the girl raised her voice. "She's listening because I'm not telling her anything she doesn't already feel! The words might be coming from my mouth, but it's what Maya wants to do."

"No that's - that's not true," Lucas stammered. But Maya could hear the doubt in his voice. He still didn't know her that well. She used all her energy to turn her head and look at him. He was kneeling beside her and his hand was at the side of her head. When did that happen? She hadn't noticed.

"This is your love at first sight, Prince," the girl whispered, fiercely. "A directionless, despondent, sad little girl." The words stung, but strangely, they also felt good. Like, finally. Finally it's been said.

Lucas didn't tear his eyes from Maya's. "That's not true. I fell in love with the girl who was dancing in the sunshine. She didn't know anyone was watching her, but she smiled anyway. That's who you are, Maya."

The words sounded clunky and uncertain, even though there was a passion behind them. Maya started to laugh, but there was no humor in the sound at all. "That's why you fell in love with me? Because I twirled?"

Lucas looked thrown for a second. "No. Because you were the most delightful girl I had ever met."

A slight bubbling of energy burst into Maya. "Delightful? You were going to drop everything for a pretty girl you thought was delightful. The dancing, and the beauty, that wasn't even mine. I was given the gifts of beauty and grace." She still hadn't lifted her head. Spitting those words out took enough energy from her.

"It's still who you are," he said. Pleading. Begging. Maya couldn't be moved by it, though.

"No, it's not. You caught me on a good morning. I was dying of loneliness. I lived in the woods with three fairies. I had no one else. I just wished for anyone. Anyone. I used to dream about a boy like you. Someone I could touch, and hold. And then," she whispered, "there you were."

"I know," Lucas said, shaking his head, not understanding, still not understanding. "It was perfect."

"No, you're - you're not _listening _to me, Lucas. In both worlds, I spend my days just lying around. I did that more often than I twirled. When I saw you… that was more joy than I'd known in seventeen years. I just wanted to do something else. Something…." She trailed off, not knowing what to say. "I don't know what I wanted."

"Maybe if she was raised like you, Prince," the girl said, "she'd be fine. Or just raised normally, even. In a village, like the one you two danced in. With dances and chores and town meetings to look forward to. Anything. But Maya didn't just feel trapped; she was trapped. And she didn't even know it. She just felt it."

"Everyone feels like that sometimes," he said, desperately. His hands were cupping her face now. "C'mon, Maya. Come out of it. You're not a sad person, you're - you're fine." Maya closed her eyes, and jerked her head away. She wanted to sink into the ground. Be nothing forever. It would be more peaceful than what she had now.

Lucas let out something resembling a growl and swung his sword into the girl's head. It let out a resounding clanging sound that made Maya's head hurt worse. "Stop, Lucas," she murmured. "She's right."

"No, she's not! She's trying to make you into something you're not, Maya! Please don't - please -" He was begging now. Really, truly begging. Maya had never heard him beg before. She hated the sound. Overcome by helplessness, unsure of what to do. Maya knew what that felt like. But it was no use.

It was time to tell him what she hadn't even told herself yet. "I pricked my own finger."

"What?" Lucas said, blinking, eyes wide. "But Maleficent hypnotized you, she…"

"She opened a secret passageway. She led me to the room. But I'd felt the curse, I'd felt it for years. I just couldn't recognize it for what it was until I saw the spindle in front of me. And then, I knew that if I touched it, I would… I don't know. I would die, or sleep forever, and I was fine with it." Lucas had gone quiet. Maya didn't know if that was worse than begging. "Lucas," she said, and she felt tears in her eyes. "I had spent my life in the woods. And then I saw you. And then I lost you, as soon as I'd found you. Set to marry a stranger. Torn from everything I knew. Death would have been better than that much disappointment. And sleep was more than welcome."

Lucas looked away from her, finally, his eyes shiny with tears. "Why didn't you just run? Why didn't you come find me?"

"I don't know. It didn't seem like there was any other option."

The girl spoke again, a satisfied little snarl. The sound made Maya sick. "The mind traps itself. That's the way Maya works. Everything is too hard. Too tiring. Too inescapable." With each word, Maya felt herself sinking deeper and deeper into gloom. What the girl was saying was true. All she needed was to hear the words out loud. "Sleep now, Princess. This world - any world - is too much for you." Maya's eyes became heavy. The ground wasn't just under her anymore, it was holding her. Like a deep, warm embrace, pulling her down.

Between slow blinks, she could see Lucas trying to reach her, but he wasn't even getting close. Maybe he was giving up, like she was. Maybe it was time for both of them to do that. Or maybe it was just the black thorny vines shooting out of the ground and wrapping around him. She closed her eyes. Finally. Oh, finally. Everything was relaxed and unmoving. Just peaceful blackness.

Then, Lucas, her prince who never complained, not even about her porridge that he so clearly hated, let out a loud groan. It was enough to get Maya to crack her eyes open ever-so-slightly. The vines had him pinned to a tree, struggling to breathe. No one would come save him. No one would come save the palace of people depending on her. This was what forever would look like.

And it was her fault. This was her quest. This was the adventure she'd dreamed about at the cottage. This was her duty. She stirred, but the girl stopped it, sending another wave of lethargy over her. What was the point of trying? She could only fail. Look at what she was up against. An army of demons, the most powerful fairy in the realm.

Lucas cried out again. The sound propelled Maya to struggle to her feet. It felt like she was pushing through molasses. The sword was a weight pulling her down, but Maya wearily raised it. The little girl knocked it aside as if it was nothing. Then, she lunged with her wooden toy, grazing the inside of Maya's arm. It was just a scratch, barely a flesh wound, but Maya cried out. It felt jagged and sharp.

She pulled her hand back. The girl giggled again. "You can't destroy me, you are me. I'm the only part of you that matters." The girl lunged again and Maya barely reacted in enough time to block her.

"You can't sword fight," Lucas gasped from the tree.

"I know!" Maya shouted back. Now was maybe not the time to critique her combat skills. But he was looking at her meaningfully and Maya knew what he meant in an instant. She couldn't sword fight, no.

But there was another power she had. The girl stumbled backwards as a rock grew out of the ground. And then pitched forwards as another grew under her feet. Rock after rock, sending the girl flying like a rag doll. But she quickly found her footing and sent Maya a withering look. "Disappointing."

Under the weight of the word, Maya felt herself falling again, and the ground rushed up to welcome her. Of all the people she'd disappointed, she thought she might have let herself down the most. She tried to will some image into her head, to give her back some of the energy she'd found, but she just felt sad. And empty. And hopeless.

"Maya," Lucas' voice came hoarse and struggling to her, like a dream. "You were going to end it all because you thought… you'd lost me." He gulped in more air, trying to get the words out. "But I'm here. I'm always going to be here. Telling you…" he gasped, "not to give up."

Maya vaguely looked around. She had two lifetimes of memories. In both, she was useless. But someone really loved her. If just one person cared enough, the right person, maybe she could come through for him. But it felt so hard - everything felt so heavy. The girl raised her wooden sword above Maya's head.

"Maya!" Lucas sobbed. A terrible sound.

But there was an even more terrible sound coming from alongside him, one Maya had made herself. The rumbling of a giant oak tree ready to fall. She didn't see it crush the little girl, but she knew when it had because all the melancholy dripped out of her like blood from a wound. The tree had missed her by a hair.

"Maya," Lucas cried, pulling free from the now loose and withered vines and running towards her.

"I'm okay," she said, shakily.

He helped her to her feet and for once, Maya didn't protest. "Was that… you?"

She nodded. "Yeah… Sorry." She didn't know why she was apologizing. But she felt like she had to. _Sorry I'm not the girl you thought you wanted. Sorry that what she said was true. _

Lucas didn't say anything, just pulled her into his arms. She hadn't been a hugging person before she'd met him, but now, there were few things that he couldn't make better simply by holding her. Maya caught a glimpse of the girl over Lucas' shoulder. In death, she almost seemed normal.

But when her eyes sprang open, Maya knew that wasn't true. The light inside them was weak, though. The fight was over for now. "You haven't won, Princess." Lucas swung around, not letting go of Maya. The girl smiled. "Your parents are dead. Maleficent has just killed them."


	9. The Cottage in the Woods

**Hey friends, thanks for all the nice reviews, it's meant a lot. I'm glad you guys love this story as much as I loved writing it. There are only three chapters left after this one, so we're gearing up for some good stuff. Enjoy this chapter!**

As the girl dissolved into ash, Maya crumbled to her knees. Lucas went down with her. But - no. No, they can't be dead. They can't - "Lucas, what does she mean they're dead?"

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"But they can't be dead, I don't even - I don't even know them yet, I didn't even get the chance to -" She broke off, unable to say anything else.

His fingers were knotted in her hair and he was holding her tightly and Maya didn't know if she had earned the grief she was feeling, she only knew it had devoured every other thought in her brain. What was the point of all this? What was it all for? She was supposed to go on this stupid quest and fight all these demons and she still couldn't save the people she loved.

But that was the worst part. She didn't even get the chance to love them, her family, her real family. She felt a pang of guilt, because she knew the fairies were her real family - they had raised her, after all. But King Shawn, Queen Katy… they were her blood. And they had given her up and she hadn't ever gotten the chance to talk to them about that. They just died, never getting to know her. What was the fucking point of that?

Somewhere in her grief, Maya realized Lucas was still talking. The same words over and over again. "I know. I know."

She tried to take a deep breath but it got caught in her throat. She looked up at him. "You do?"

"When my mom, when she - I might have been able to know her, but she never got to see how I turned out. She never got to see what I became. She never got to meet you. And there's just all that stuff there, that you never get now that a person is gone. That was the worst part for me. I don't know if that's how you feel, but, Maya, I'm so - I can't even -"

Through all the tears and crying and fighting and grief, Maya wanted one good thing. And here was Lucas, saying exactly what she'd been thinking. She knew how sorry he was for her, she knew that he must feel her grief in his own heart because that was how much he loved her. She didn't need to hear him say it. She cut him off with a kiss, different than any of the others they'd shared. This one was deep and clinging, and… wet. He tasted like salt. He tasted like tears. Maya had forgotten that just moments before she'd been sinking into the ground and he'd been screaming.

What would have happened if she'd given in? Not what would have happened to the dreamworld or Maleficent, though she did wonder about that. No, what would have happened to Lucas? What would he have done? Maya didn't know what she'd do if it was him who died. She pulled away, looking into his eyes, seeing something maybe she didn't before. Or maybe she'd always seen it, but the thought of it was sleeping inside of her and now it had awoken. Maybe that was what she saw in him that day she twirled in the woods.

But Lucas seemed to sense a change too. He opened his mouth to say something, but that was when they heard singing - an old song Maya had heard growing up. A work song. "No," Maya moaned, wiping her tears away. "Not another one."

"No, hang on - I know that voice, it's -" Lucas stood up, eyes wide. The booming voice got louder. It was rich with sound, with cheer, or maybe something resembling gumption. It sounded vaguely familiar to Maya, too. A tall man with a long white beard stepped into the clearing.

Lucas took an automatic step towards the figure, and Maya's hand tightened on his. He helped pull her to her feet, not taking his eyes off the man in front of them. The man seemed frozen, too. "Dad?" Lucas said, his voice so hopeful, and so unsure.

"Lucas?" The man said, face slack. "No. No, this is a trap, isn't it? It's Maleficent's trap."

"No! No, it's not. We've been running into them too." Lucas' eyes were shiny with unshed tears, but a few leaked out from the man's eyes. King Joseph.

Lucas let go of Maya's hand and threw his arms around his father, who now weeped openly, clutching his son. Lucas was tall but King Joseph had some height on him. Maya could see the resemblance. "Lucas, oh, my boy. My boy. I wish you weren't here. But I'm so happy to see you."

Of course, The Exile. This was him, wandering the woods just like Maya had thought. Wandering the woods for years, facing the same memories she had now. Memories of a life lived somewhere else, of his son and his kingdom. She didn't know what she could say to him, to either of them right now, but then she figured it would be alright to let them have this family moment, even if she would never get one again, had never gotten one in the first place. She'd let them have this. Her quest could wait.

-::-::-::-::-::-::-

King Joseph had been sent to them by the fairies. And Maya had to say, she was glad the situation was finally taken out of her hands. He'd been in the woods for years, and he knew the landscape well, so when Maya asked about a cottage, her cottage, he didn't hesitate when leading the way. It was strange to think that their adventure was almost over. Strange in a hopeful sort of way. But Maya didn't want to get too comfortable just yet. She still had a decent amount to go, and she needed to remember that.

Still, it was a reassuring thought, especially after she almost tripped and had to double over in pain for a few moments while walking. Her body couldn't take much more adventuring. For the first time since their quest had started, Lucas was walking apart from her, in front of her, talking to his dad and grinning widely, in the way that children do when they want their parents to be proud of them. Maya could recognize that look.

She just didn't know what it was like to have it reciprocated like King Joseph did with Lucas. Still, Lucas hung back after about twenty minutes of walking and slipped his hand into hers. "How you holding up?"  
Maya decided to be honest. "I'm okay." And she was. Kind of. She had a detached sense of grief - not for people she'd known, but people she could have loved, who could have given her the love she'd always wanted and never felt. Lucas seemed to understand this, so he said nothing, just walking with her. Letting her know she was there.

After a few more minutes of walking, Maya suddenly became overwhelmed with nostalgia. The place where they were walking, where they were standing right now - "Lucas, I think this is where we met."

She could tell by the faint smile playing at his lips that he recognized it, too. It was nice to have her memories back. She'd admit that. It was nice at moments like these. The rustle in the bushes behind her made sure to interrupt that feeling, though. Figured. Lucas glanced at her, then half-heartedly gripped his sword. "I thought Maleficent couldn't reach you here. Deepest part of your mind and whatever."

"Um, did you not just see the creepy little girl who tried to attack us with feelings?"

"Duly noted."

They were so used to this by now that they almost forgot they weren't alone. King Joseph burst through the two of them, pulling their hands apart. Maya hadn't realized they were still holding onto each other. "I've got this. You two go on. Finish your adventure."

"What? Dad, no, it's okay. We can take it down together, that's what we've been doing."

King Joseph shook his head, betraying a hint of sadness. "This is my part of the story, Lucas. Yours lies ahead."

Lucas shook his head, but didn't say anything. He seemed to be at a loss for words. He'd just gotten his dad back, and now? After a moment, he put his arms around the king, holding him tightly, so different from the joyful hug they'd just shared. "We'll see you when we finish. When we wake up."

"I don't - I don't think so. Not like this, at least."

Lucas pulled away, eyeing his father warily. "What - what does that mean?" If Maya didn't know him so well by now, she might not have caught the tremor in his voice.

"Just that - I've been out here a long time. And I think somewhere along the way I lost pieces of myself. I don't think I've found all of them. So when we get back to the other side… do you understand?"

Lucas shook his head, eyes wide and sad. Maya didn't understand either.

"Well, that's okay, boy. We'll talk later." King Joseph seemed to hesitate a moment before adding, "I wish we talked before. Really talked."

"Dad -"

"Good luck, son. I… well, you know already. Make me proud." His eyes were glassy when he turned away. So were Lucas'. Different kinds of tears than she'd seen him have earlier, as he watched his dad disappear into the brush.

There was a lingering silence once the king had gone. "What just happened?" Lucas asked Maya. But she didn't have a good answer for him. She didn't have an answer at all. "That felt like goodbye. Why did that feel like goodbye?"'

A single tear rolled off the bridge of Lucas' nose and onto the back of Maya's hand. She felt the dampness seep into her like her own private sorrow. She couldn't take his pain away, and he couldn't take hers. But they could turn it into something new, together. Maya placed her hand on Lucas' cheek, pulling him towards her and kissing him, long and slow. God, she'd wanted to do that for so long. There were so many things about him that she didn't know yet, but she knew how she felt about him, and she wanted him to understand.

It wasn't as passionate as their other kisses, but it was deeper in a sense, a message Maya was only able to convey one way. Lucas seemed to receive it. He pulled away, tried to smile, and then whispered, "Let's go."

-::-::-::-::-::-::-

King Joseph had pointed them in a good direction, because within minutes they were coming up on a cottage. It wasn't quite right - some of the details were missing, and some extras were added in. But in Maya's heart, it felt like home, and that was enough for her. A face appeared in the dark window, a flash of long brown hair and a light green apron draped over slender shoulders. The face itself was hard to make out, but Maya would know Riley anywhere. Riley smiled, and beckoned for Maya and Lucas to come in.

Maya's hand tightened on Lucas' and even though both their hearts were so heavy today, Maya couldn't help but smile. She took a few steps towards the door. Lucas tugged her back for a moment. "What if it's another trap?"

Maya shook her head. "It's not." She didn't have any reason to give him, but she felt it. This was different. It just was. Lucas still looked at the door, unsure. So Maya looked him in the eye, which was hard to do considering he was a full foot taller than her, and said, "Trust me, Huckleberry?"

"You know I do."

"Then let's go."


	10. Home Sweet Home (More or Less)

The interior of the cottage was bigger than Maya remembered. Remembered was probably the wrong word. But it was bigger here than it was in real life. There were pieces of her life in the castle and her life in the cottage. Riley's sunflower plants lining the windowsill, the golden tapestry along her bed from her parents, her bookshelf full of words she never read at the castle, the stack of sketchbooks Zay had brought home from the market he went to once a month.

Relief wasn't quite the right word for what Maya felt. Maybe grateful was. Profoundly grateful. She was so tired, but she didn't want the life the younger, demon version of herself would suggest. She didn't want to sink into the earth, but to sink into the arms of the people who'd loved her for her entire life, in the place where she'd truly known home. She hadn't had the happiest childhood. She wouldn't pretend that she did.

But it wasn't nothing. Maya could have reminisced about her home for the longest time, but there were three people she was very, very eager to see. One dressed in green, one in red, and one in blue. Her family. She practically ran into Riley's arms. Riley had always been her favorite.

"How are you here?" she cried. "Are you asleep too?"  
She pulled back and Riley tucked a loose strand of Maya's hair behind her ear, an achingly familiar gesture. "No, Peaches, we're not."

"Then - I don't understand."

"We're not really here."

Maya furrowed her eyebrows, pulling away and looking at the three people standing in front of her, gently smiling. Isadora's face held the hint of impatience, which wasn't anything new. They weren't attacking her, so she guessed they weren't Maleficent's demons. So what were they then?

Isadora answered Maya's question as if she had heard her. "We're fragments of your mind as it sinks deeper into your subconscious. That's why this house looks different than the cottage. Your reality here is completely subjective."

Maya looked to Zay to decode what Isadora meant. "She just means that we're part of you. I think. I don't know what she means half the time." Maya laughed. God. She'd missed them so much. "What we are, is part of your memory. The deepest part. I would say the most important part."

Isadora cut in. "No, all the parts of Maya's memory hold equal weight, it's just a matter of how close they are to the surface."

"I know, Isadora, I was trying to do a cute family thing. Forget it."

Maya was thrown back to the castle, when they were specks telling her to wake up. "You tried to save me in the castle, didn't you? That was you guys."

"Not exactly," Isadora said. "That was us in the real world. Or, the waking world, I suppose, to give a more adequate definition. Like Zay said, this is the deepest part of your memory, the only place Maleficent can't access. You guard the memories here very carefully." Then, Isadora looked at Maya with a little twinkle in her eye. "So do we." Isadora was never one to be as affectionate as Riley or as emotional as Zay, but she had her ways of showing her love.

"But that thing, the version of me as a child. What was that then?"

Isadora grimaced. "That was real. Maleficent just nudged it awake. But that child has always been close to your heart, Maya. I'm sorry we could never do more to rid you of it."

Zay's hand was on Maya's shoulder in a flash. Lucas' hand twitched toward his sword instinctively, but he seemed to realize that there was no threat. "If I could have, I would have slain it years ago. In the real world."

"So what do we do? How do fix it?"

Riley's hand found Maya's. Even if it wasn't real, it felt good to be with someone she knew and trusted. Although, when she looked over her shoulder at Lucas, just to smile and let him know that everything was alright, she thought that maybe she'd had that this whole adventure. When Riley spoke, her voice was just like it was when she was teaching Maya a lesson at home. Usually, Isadora was her tutor, but Riley liked to read. "Isadora changed the curse to save your life, but she wasn't able to save you from it completely. Part of Maleficent's soul went into you. That's why she can live on in your dream. In order for you to end it, royal blood must be shed."

Maya was starting to get it. "Queen Maleficent."

Riley smiled. "Exactly. You have to be the one to kill her. The moment she is dead, and royal bled has been shed, the kingdom will awaken from their slumber." Riley placed her hand under Maya's chin. Her fingers were cold. "But we will be with you, every step of the way."

"So will I," Lucas said, stepping forward. Maya's eyes flew to him. "I mean, you probably knew that by now, but I, uh, wanted to say it."

"Right," Maya said. "Riley, Isadora, Zay, this is my -" she gestured to Lucas and then realized she had no idea what to call him. "My Lucas."  
He dipped his head, giving a slight bow. "We know," Isadora said, earning her an elbow from Zay.

"Right, that's me," Lucas said, smiling nervously, which Maya found endearing. It wasn't like he was actually meeting her family, but she liked that he cared about making a good impression. "And I need to know - We know what we can do, but what can Maleficent do?"

Zay frowned, looking down at the ground for a moment, his usual bravado gone. "I'm sorry, but your parents, Maya - well, I guess I mean, Your Majesty. Their blood made her stronger. I'm so sorry. But you will have your vengeance."

Maya couldn't grieve for them again, so she held a hand up to silence Zay. "Can you not call me Your Majesty?" Isadora raised her eyebrows curiously in response to the question. Maya shrugged. "I've always been Maya to you guys. I don't want that to change yet."

"Be gentle, Zay," Riley said, putting her arm around Maya. "Maya just lost her parents. Nothing is going to bring them back. She's going to have to deal with that."

"Uh, can we not talk about that right now?" Maya asked, but she was ignored.

"Vengeance might make her feel better," Zay said.

"Plus," Isadora interjected, "it would wake everyone up. A win for everyone."

Maya looked at Lucas, whose eyes were narrowed, not with suspicion, but with thought. Maya was thinking, too. Riley, Isadora, and Zay were her family, that was true. But it was like they were the most extreme versions of themselves. The traits that Maya had known them for in the real world were more pronounced. Riley's compassion, Isadora's intelligence, Zay's bravery. Maybe that was what made them different here. They were made up of how she remembered them most.

"Here's the part that you've already figured out, Maya." Isadora was grinning now, interrupting Maya's thoughts. "This reality might be subjective, but that means you can control it. That's how we take her down."

-::-::-::-::-::-::-

Maya had thought her cottage seemed bigger, but she hadn't realized how much. They turned into the door that should have been her bedroom, and instead she was greeted with a long, wide hallway, filled with armor and targets and weapons. Oh, hell yes.

Lucas lingered back with her a moment. "You know, I'd like to come here one day. In the real world. It'd be nice to see where you grew up. I mean, if you want." His cheeks tinged pink.

Maya interlaced her fingers with his. "I guess we could arrange something, Huckleberry."

"You know, you're different than I thought you'd be," he said, suddenly. Different than he thought when he looked at her and fell in love? Was that a bad thing? Lucas seemed to realize how that sounded as soon as he said it. "Not in a bad way! I just mean…. you're so much more real. And you're funny. And you're just - I can't wait until we wake up from all of this and we can get to know each other for real. Without, well, the threat of impending doom and all."

She opened her mouth to respond, but Zay cut in, grabbing her and taking her to the armor. Time to get suited up. He'd picked out something beautiful. Gold, with little red jewels in the lining, but strong and sturdy, and _fierce_. Maya had always thought a suit of armor would be heavier. In real life, that was probably true. But this felt like it was part of her, like it was holding her up and making her stronger. Lucas came strolling down the hall once he was suited up too, tailed by Isadora, who'd helped him.

His was similar to hers, differing only in color: silver with blue diamonds. It suited him well. Plus, the character fit. A shining knight, sword in hand. When he saw her, he sucked in a breath, then grinned. "You look badass."

"Oh, you like?" She took some steps forward, putting her hand around his neck and pulling him down towards her.

"Are you sure you wanna do that in front of your family?"

"They're not really here. It's just my subconscious."

"Right. That explains all the weirdly flirty comments Isadora was making."

Maya laughed, and then kissed him. He tasted like blood and dirt and victory. She was glad he wanted to see her cottage in the real world. She was glad he felt like they could be sure enough of a future that they could talk about it. It made her feel more confident, and considering the battle she was heading into, she could use some confidence.

They spent the next few hours doing summoning practice. Lucas and Zay seemed to hit it off, practicing sword techniques in the corner. Maya, on the other hand, was learning how to make hills grow out of the floor, how to shoot knives into bullseyes just by conjuring up the image in her mind. By the time their practice was done, she was exhausted, but ready. She could do this. She had to do this. She didn't have the choice to fail.

-::-::-::-::-::-::-

So, they went. With her family behind her and Lucas beside her, they left her cottage and headed towards the palace, towards darkness and danger, but maybe towards salvation, too. The implications of what she was about to do were starting to set in. She was talking about murder, about ending a life. Lucas' voice sounded in her head, saying no, this was more like execution. It was kind of annoying that Maya knew him well enough to be able to know what he'd say without asking him.

Whether it was murder or execution, though, she'd have to do it now and deal with the feelings later. She couldn't hesitate. Maleficent sure wouldn't. The all-too-familiar feeling of dread and paranoia set in as they headed back the way they came. All the demons Maleficent could send - how much time would they be wasting trying to fight her off, even with the five of them? "I wish there was a way to get there faster," Maya said. "She can see what we're doing now, she can -"

-::-::-::-::-::-::-

Maybe Maya wasn't surprised to find that she was suddenly transplanted into the throne room of the palace - she'd gotten really good at that summoning thing - but she wasn't exactly thrilled.

"Are you kidding me?" Lucas said. "We could have done that the whole time?"

Maleficent sat on the throne, a cool, evil smile growing wider on her face. "Be careful what you wish for, my dear."


	11. The Final Battle

Maleficent might have been sitting on the throne, but she didn't exactly look well. All around her, with their backs flat again the walls, were the members of the kingdom. Maya's subjects now. She caught a glimpse of Farkle in the corner, looking scared but relieved to see her. She was relieved to see him, too, to know that he was alright.

Maleficent's guards stood everywhere, covering the people. Maya knew they wouldn't hesitate to kill. She had to make sure that didn't happen. She looked at Maleficent, curiously, trying to bring up all the old feelings she'd felt. The desire for friendship, for respect, for approval. For love. She couldn't find anything. But she still wanted to try something that wasn't strictly in the plan.

"Step down, Maleficent. And release me from the curse," she said, stepping closer to Maleficent.

"I'm sorry?"  
"I'm asking you. I'm not going to do that again."

"And if do, then you'll what? Spare my life?"

"No," Maya admitted. "But I'll make your death quick." She took a few steps forward. As Maleficent shifted, Maya saw Missy was standing next to her, on the ground. She had to fight back the rush of anger that threatened to rise up in her. "Hi, Missy. Nice to see that things worked out so well for you," she said coldly.

"Oh, her?" Maleficent sneered. "No, she's nothing. Just a little piece of me and a lot of clever magic. Not much more than those demons you killed." Maya knew Missy betrayed her, and she was still really angry about that. But the careless way Maleficent dismissed her had Maya almost wanting to defend her. "You know, she's not much more than you." Maya's blood ran hot at the insult.

"Well, Maleficent, what if I had a power like yours? Would you have loved me, then?" She hoped she didn't sound desperate. She knew she wouldn't in a few minutes.

"That doesn't matter. You don't have any powers."

A dagger appeared out of nowhere, flashing through the air and burying itself beside Maleficent's head in an instant. "But what if I did?" Maya whispered, fiercely. She took another couple steps forward.

Maleficent was clearly shocked. And was that the hint of a smile on Missy's face? But the fairy recovered quickly. "That doesn't count. This world isn't real."

"It counts because you made it real!" Maya shook her head. "There's nothing inside you, Maleficent. Nothing. You did all this because you didn't get invited to a baby's fucking birthday party. Killing you is going to be easy."

"Is it now? I think you speak too soon, Your Highness," Maleficent said, spitting out the words.

"Really? Because I'm less than a foot from you, and I'm still alive." Her nose was inches away from Maleficent's. The queen's eyes widened and then narrowed. Finally, fury overcame her. Maleficent was never a patient person. Vines rose up from the ground and wrapped around Maya's middle, dragging her backwards across the throne room floor.

"Maya!" Lucas yelled, lunging and trying to get her, but still falling short. When Maya was a decent ways away, the vines hardened, pinning her to the floor and keeping her arms at her sides. Fuck. Why was it always vines? Riley looked towards Maya as Lucas rushed to her side, smiled as if there wasn't a care in the world, and then rose into the air. Maya gasped, almost forgetting the battle for a moment. It was beautiful. She'd never seen Riley flying in either life.

"It's time to let this go, Maleficent. This isn't your world. You've invaded it, and used it, but the owner has taken it back now. You can't win this."

"I think that has yet to be proven!" Maleficent yelled, pointing her staff and sending a purple lightning bolt Riley's way. Just barely, Riley dipped, avoiding it and Maya's breath caught in her throat. She knew that this version of the fairies wasn't real, but she didn't think she could watch Maleficent kill them.

"People change, Maleficent. Because of the people who help them and love them. You could have had that. You could have had that with Maya if you'd wanted. But she had people who were looking out for her, even here, and because of that she grew. And now, you can't defeat her." Another purple lightning bolt. Another near miss. Riley huffed. "Can we do this somewhere else? There are innocent people here. They'll get hurt."

Maya groaned. No, Riley, no. She was always too trusting. Didn't she understand - that was exactly who Maleficent was going to go after now. Instantly, a lightning bolt was aimed towards the ground. Riley counteracted it with a bolt of her own, a green one. And another. And another. All around the room. But people were still getting hit, by both of their bolts. Maya didn't have to stay pinned to the ground. She could get up, make these vines wither away whenever she wanted. She closed her eyes and concentrated.

"Not yet," Isadora's voice was in her ear. "We'll wear her down first."

"But the people -"  
"She won't let them get hurt."

Maya blinked her eyes open. Isadora was right. Riley was dodging every attack. People were cowering, holding each other. They were scared, but they were safe. Maleficent let out a scream, sounding more inhuman than Maya had ever heard her, and shot the bolt directly at Riley. Riley couldn't avoid it that time.

No. No. Maya shut her eyes. She couldn't watch. She couldn't - no. When she opened her eyes, only a pale green ball of light remained in Riley's place. Her heart was in her throat. It's not real, she reminded herself. Just a part of my memory. Not real. Zay didn't seem to understand. He let out a scream - a battle cry, and charged towards Maleficent with his sword.

She sent more purple bolts his way, and he deflected them with his sword. It was almost beautiful to watch, like an intricate dance. His hand moved so fast it was just a blur. And he was getting closer. Lucas, still beside Maya, reached for his own sword, but Isadora stopped him. "Not yet. Your lives are short and precious. Don't waste them until you have to, and only if we have failed."

Lucas nodded, understanding, though not seeing happy about it. Missy watched, unblinkingly. Red sparks reflected in her eyes. Maya wondered what she was thinking. Zay was still pushing his way toward Maleficent, so he didn't notice two of her servants creeping up behind him. "ON YOUR LEFT!" Lucas shouted. Maya felt a rush of gratitude for her prince.

Zay didn't even turn around, just thrust his sword out behind him, killing them with one swipe. Okay. That was so badass. Maleficent didn't seem bothered, though. She grinned. The bolts of purple changed to balls of a sickly green color. Nothing like the color Riley usually loved. Zay was able to dodge these, too, except they left something behind. Little strands, clinging to him and making him slower, until he was completely frozen. Then, Maleficent raised her staff, and shot a purple lightning bolt directly into his chest.

Maya cried out, turning her head away. Lucas put his arm around her, tightly, but he didn't look away. Isadora seemed unperturbed, and Maya couldn't understand why. She only looked back up when she heard Maleficent laughing. All that was left of Zay was a little red ball, just like Riley's. "Who's next?" the witch said.

"Why are you doing this?" Maya called out. "What is your plan once we're gone? Prancing about an empty castle?"

"You really think I want the company of humans? I don't care about humans or their ridiculous little kingdoms."

"No, you only care about the parties they don't invite you to."

"Nice one," Isadora said, smiling and lifting off the ground. She turned back, briefly, shooting Maya a little salute that for some strange reason filled Maya with the oddest kind of sadness. Unlike Riley and Zay, Isadora lingered towards the walls, drifting around the room, almost absent-mindedly. "What happened to you, Maleficent?"

Isadora barely had time to get that sentence out before a lightning bolt was hurled her way. Even from a distance, Maya was pretty sure Isadora rolled her eyes as she dodged it. The bolt hit the floor, striking two of Maleficent's guards.

"You weren't always evil. When did you start caring so much about humans?"

Another bolt. Two more guards. "I just said I don't care."

"And yet, you keep trying to kill them. To punish them. To get invites to their parties, as Maya so aptly put it." Bolt after bolt, Isadora dodged it, they kept hitting guards. Oh. Oh, hell yes. She was evening the odds for Maya and Lucas. "I was at that party. You didn't miss much."

"I deserve to be respected!"

"Nobody deserves anything." Before, Isadora was just trying to goad Maleficent, but now she meant what she was saying. Really did. She cast Maya a meaningful look as the lightning bolt caught the end of her dress, sending flames up her body. Isadora couldn't fight back a small scream.

Maya hated seeing her family like this, the people who raised her, so weak and helpless. But this time she couldn't look away. Isadora dove towards Maleficent's face, hitting her with the flames. She caught Maya's eye, winked, and disappeared into the flames as Maleficent burned, frantically putting out the fire.

If she'd looked sickly before, it was nothing compared to now. There was a blue ball floating in the air with the others. "Guards," Maleficent cried out, hoarsely. But there was no one left to save her.

"It's over, Maleficent," Maya said. "You've killed your last innocent."  
"No, not my last. Now, my dear, it's your turn. And there's no one left to save you," she said.

The people of the kingdom looked on in horror. Farkle even looked like he was going to rush to her rescue, but Maya shook her head. As soon as Maleficent finished speaking, Lucas placed himself between her and Maya. God, what did she do to deserve him? But, quickly, she stopped paying attention. Because the green, blue, and red balls of light were moving.

Towards Maya. They slammed into her body, full speed. Maya barely understood what was happening until they disappeared inside of her. It hurt like hell. But finally, she understood. The vines fell away from her like they'd never been there in the first place.

"Maya?" Lucas said. She could hear concern in his voice. But he felt far away. Maya stood up, feeling better than she ever had.

"Someone seems eager for defeat," Maleficent said, but even she sounded unsure.

"No. This changes everything."

"Maya," Lucas said again, taking a step back. "What was that?"

She didn't look at him. She kept her eyes trained on Maleficent. "My true gifts. Returned to me."

Maleficent snorted. "Grace, song, beauty? What good are those to a dead girl?"

"Not those. Those were given. These are grown. I'm brave. I'm a hell of a lot smarter than you gave me credit for. And you know what matters the most, Maleficent? I care about people. I care about my people. But I don't care about you." And with those words, Maya pushed Maleficent back, sending her sprawling to the floor, overturning the throne. It was nice to see that chair on the ground.

Maleficent tried to summon stones from the floor and send them flying at Maya, but Maya stopped them, and they clattered uselessly to the ground. Missy had flinched a little bit, but her face remained static and unmoving. She was looking at Maya. Maya had only just now realized she was still alive. She didn't quite like the fact that it made her relieved.

"I still have your blood, princess!" Maleficent yelled, " or did you forget? Maybe you control this world, but I control you!"

Maleficent shook her staff, and all the color seeped out of the world. Maya felt sick, and shaky. She wobbled a little bit, and in a moment, Lucas' hands were around her keeping her steady, and then shaking her. "Maya!" he whispered. "Maya, it's not real. She's doing it to you, just like in the woods."

Maya felt the words Lucas said, and summoned all the strength she had, as she looked over Lucas' shoulder. Maleficent was smiling, murmuring an incantation. "No," Maya said, quietly, but fiercely. A wind swept up, blowing Maleficent's words away and Maya sagged in relief, feeling her energy return. The relief was clear on Lucas' face too. Maleficent made a mistake by using all the tricks in her book before they even had the chance to return to the palace to fight.

But Maleficent wasn't done. She conjured up a monster, made of coal, and fire, and hatred. With no guards around, the members of the palace were starting to realize they could run. Which meant the throne room turned into chaos. "I'll handle the monster," Lucas said. "You keep with Maleficent."  
Okay. Okay, she could do that. She thought of the sickly black vines Maleficent had sent her way, and then she thought of the tree she was standing under when Lucas saw her for the first time and took her into his arms. Sturdy, healthy, brown roots rose from the ground, surrounding Maleficent, tripping her, wrapping her in their thick branches.

And then, Lucas grunted loudly from the side and Maya's eyes flashed in his direction. He was whacked by the monster, sent staggering, the wind knocked out of him. He recovered quickly, but he had either bruised or broken a rib. Maya knew if you died in this world, you died in the real world too, but what about injuries? And could Lucas keep fighting?

While she was trying to regain focus, Maleficent retaliated with another image, one that made Maya's breath leave her body. Her parents were standing in front of her, smiling, eyes shining. "Maya," her dad said. "You don't have to do this."

"You're not real," Maya whispered. "No. You're dead."

"Come on, baby girl," her mom said. "We can help you."

"It was a mistake." Her dad again.

"You look tired, honey. You don't have to fight anymore. Just come here."

For the briefest second, Maya almost listened. Yes, she would die. But would it be so bad to die thinking she was in the arms of her parents? Maybe it would be worth it, in the end. But instead, she ran a sword through their bodies and watched them turn to black ash. There were people who loved her. There was someone in this very room who loved her so much it scared her, fighting for his life.

And she wasn't an orphan. She had three parents who had raised her, taught her what they knew, and loved her very much. She wasn't broken. She was so, so strong. She knew that know.

But this wasn't the time to be having revelations. More monsters were being summoned by Maleficent, and her skill was evenly matched with Maya's. Lucas stood in front of the men and women and children who were huddled in the corner. Maya could hear screams. She had to block them out. The only way to help them was to kill Maleficent.

One of the demons jumped in front of Maya, raking its claws across her chest, sending sparks flying from the armor. Had she not been wearing it, that thing could have killed her. It could still kill her. She raised her sword, but the demon pounced on her anyway. It was so heavy, and the smell - oh god. Maya couldn't think of anything else. She used the hilt of the sword to stop it from tearing at her face. She even managed to stab it once, but the pain just seemed to make it angrier.

"GET OFF OF HER!" she heard. And the weight was gone. And there was Lucas, slicing the head clean off the creature, then pulling Maya to her feet. "Are you hurt?" She shook her head. He smiled, kissing her quickly. "I love you. So much." And he was off again.

"Princess needs someone to save her, huh?" Maleficent snarled.

Maya rolled her eyes. Needing someone once in a while didn't make her weak. It made her human. And Maleficent had no one. Even Missy had backed away, gripping Maleficent's throne with a white knuckle. One of the castle walls started to collapse. As Lucas darted out of the way just in time, Maya released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

And Maleficent, wild with anger and frustration started chanting again. Maya didn't want to talk. She didn't want to fight anymore. She just wanted everyone to be safe again. The floor underneath Maleficent opened deep into the earth. Lucas pushed everyone back. Maya flicked a stone under the witch's feet, enough to make her lose her balance and plummet down. Best to be sure, though. Maya piled all the walls that had tumbled during the battle, sent them flying above her head, and down into the pit. She could hear the crack of Maleficent's body, sickening and satisfying at the same time. It was over.

-::-::-::-::-::-::-

It was over. So why were they still here? Her eyes met Lucas', uncertain. A small voice sounded from across the room. "I don't think she's done yet."

It was Missy. Maya didn't really know how to feel for her former best friend. "Well, yeah. She can't be dead. We're not awake." Maya was too tired to keep her tone cold.

"Sorry. I just thought - I thought logic didn't work in dreams."

Maya shrugged. She was too tired to have this conversation while she was waiting for more battling. And sure enough, there was the shifting of a pebble, somewhere down in the hole. She could hear it. A rumbling under the castle floor, rocks sliding over each other. Then silence. Then a big, clawed, black hand shooting out of the rubble.

"No," Lucas whispered, looking very pale. Maya tried to conjure up everything she could to crush the dragon before it could arise, but everything turned to dust. There was nothing left of her former palace. Now, they were standing in the sunshine. The only thing still standing was the throne. More silence, for just a moment. And then the dragon burst forward, a black, ugly creature, with the wings of a bat and the teeth of one of her many demons. Like something from a children's drawing. Or Hell. "Lucas, get everyone away from here."  
"What? No. I'm not leaving you."

"Help me after you get everyone away, okay?"

She could tell he was going to argue more, but there was a shout from behind them. This day really couldn't get any weirder. It was King Joseph. "Dad!" Lucas called out. But King Joseph, like the ruler he was, was directing the people to safety, to the woods that Maleficent couldn't control anymore. She could see Farkle shoot her a glance over his shoulder and give her a deep nod. For luck. For thanks. She was so glad he survived this.

"Fear not, Your Highness," the king said. "I'll protect them with my life." And then he was gone, behind them, grabbing the hand of a small boy and leading him along. Maya turned her attention back to the matter at hand. She was so exhausted, in a different kind of way than she had been the past few days. Maleficent used Maya's power to transform, and Maya could feel it deeply, in her bones. She only wished Lucas was away, and safe, so she didn't have to waste more energy worrying about him.

The dragon breathed a long stream of green fire. Lucas swung Maya behind him, sword out. He was trembling, she could tell. But he wasn't going to let her down. Missy had stayed behind, seemingly unafraid. The dragon set to breathe out more flames, but Maya snuffed them out with a strong wind. She could delay it, but how would she defeat it?

She opened the ground beneath it, but it was ready for that move. It stumbled, almost fell, and then recovered too quickly. Lucas dove for the dragon, swiping at its neck. The skin was too thick - the sword didn't even scratch it. So he tried to divert it. Running, zigzagging over the grassy landscape. The part that made Maya's gut churn was that it was working. Maleficent chased him. Maya made a hill rise up from nowhere, hitting the dragon. But it just accepted the obstacles and then continued on. She pulled trees up from its roots, sending them flying the dragon's way. They hit off its back like they were nothing more than small twigs and not oak trees that used to stretch a hundred feet.

The dragon reared back, blowing more smoke towards where Lucas was standing. Maya's wind didn't come fast enough. The light and heat were blinding, so she shut her eyes, not meaning to, and when she opened them, all that was left was a puff of smoke where Lucas had been standing.

No. God, no. Please, please, no. Not Lucas. Anyone but Lucas. She couldn't do this without him, she couldn't - she - oh god. She heard his voice in her head, telling her, yes, she could. Grieve later, fight now. And he was right, oh he was always right. She couldn't think of him right now, because if she did - no. She felt Zay in her blood, overwhelming her with the need for vengeance. Maya made a hundred replicas of Lucas' sword rained from the sky, plunging towards Maleficent's hide, and bouncing off, falling onto the ground. No blood was drawn.

Maleficent's voice sounded like it was coming from everywhere. "No weapons of man can destroy me! I am everywhere!"

It was hopeless. Hopeless. She was alone, without Lucas, without her family, with no arrows left in her quiver. Was this really how it ended? The dragon lumbered towards Maya, and Maya shut her eyes. She had nothing left. She just hoped it was a quick death.

But instead of a sharp claw piercing through her flesh, she heard the dragon scream, a sound somewhere between human and monster. Maya's eyes shot open. There was Missy, bloody and glorious, with her small dagger plunged between the dragon's ribs. "But weapons from hell can take back what they are owed." She pulled the dagger out, stabbing the dragon again, this time in the foot. The dragon turned to bite Missy in half, and Maya took several large steps back. She couldn't watch another person die in front of her.

Suddenly, Lucas was there, armor singed and face slightly burnt, but alive and unharmed. Maya almost fell to the floor with relief. Thank god. Thank god he was okay. He grabbed Missy and pulled her along like she weighed nothing to him. With his adrenaline, and his muscles, that might as well have been true. The dragon whipped its tail around, knocking Lucas off his feet and sending Missy sailing. Then, it dove for its kill.

"No!" Maya yelled, but it was too late. The dragon dragged its claws across her body. "Missy!"

Missy slowly turned her head towards Maya, a faint smile on her lips. Sorry, she mouthed. Sorry. And then, she was gone. From friend, to betrayer, to savior, to gone. No, now was not the time. Grieve later. Lucas was still alive. And there was still time.

"Think," she said to herself. Lucas was clambering up the hill to her side. "Think," she murmured. How did this curse start? With a sad, young girl, and a sewing machine. A spindle. A spinning wheel. Oh. Oh, yes! Yes! The debris from the broken palace lay all around and Maya started to put it together, to assemble it into something real. It was formed within seconds. Maleficent tried to blow fire on it. The wood burned, then hardened into something like steel. Or iron. Something invincible. Something made stronger by the pressure fire put on it. Maya turned the needle towards the dragon, then rushed it forward, plunging it into the creature's heart.

The monster shuddered, blowing more fire, but it was changing colors, from a blazing red, to sickly green, to a yellow, to a purple, and finally to weak blue. It hit the ground so hard Maya was thrown from her feet. It wheezed three more times, then finally, finally, after all the adventures, after all the fighting, the moment they waited for came. Maleficent's chest fell and did not rise again.

-::-::-::-::-::-::-

So, Maya was pretty sure that this was when they were all supposed to wake up. She was pretty sure that was what was supposed to happen.

-::-::-::-::-::-::-

"I'll still here," Lucas said, sitting up, brushing the dirt and dust out of his hair. Maya nodded.

"We're all still here, Huckleberry." Maya sat up, wincing. She was pretty sure her ribs were not all entirely intact.

"So, what now?"

Maya knew what now. She was pretty sure. "They said royal blood would break the spell."

"And you killed the evil queen. So, I don't get it."

"The self-appointed evil queen. It wasn't real. It wasn't true royal blood. Not like mine." Maya stood up, squaring her shoulders and shedding pieces of her armor. She knew what she had to do, just as she knew Lucas wouldn't like it.

He was on his feet in an instant, wincing and angry. "Don't you dare. Don't - Maya, what are you doing? Maya, stop!" He stood in front of her, placing his hands on her shoulders.

Maya was weary. "Lucas, get out of my way."

"No, I won't let you do this."

"It's not up to you what I do or don't do." She looked at him, the urgency in his eyes, the love in everything he was doing, and felt her heart surge with so many emotions she couldn't catch them all. She wanted to say something. "I don't know what's going to happen when I do this. So, I just wanna say..." She sucked in a breath. Even now, she couldn't say it. "Thanks, Huckleberry. For everything."

"You promised me you wouldn't -" He broke off, stumbling over his words. The people of the castle were over in the forest, watching them. "You're not collateral damage. Remember?"

Maya smiled, a little shaky, pressing a hand to the side of Lucas' face. He softened a little at the touch. "Lucas, you'll be okay. Whatever happens, you'll be fine."

He shook his head, looking desperate, looking scared. "I have royal blood. Use mine."

"It has to be me, and you have to let me do this. Okay?"

She didn't wait for an answer. She pulled away from him, roughly, and ran. Even now, he wouldn't hurt her by holding her too tight. She had to be faster than him. Even when he was behind her, running, calling her name. Still, Maya afforded herself one moment of hesitation. Last time she pricked her finger, she was looking for a way out. A way to sleep forever. This time, it was to wake up and live. She pressed her finger to the needle, felt the small, sharp prick of pain. Then she felt it tremor throughout her whole body. It hurt so much. She cried out a little, and she looked towards Lucas. He was frozen, eyes wide with fear. A fat, ruby drop of blood rolled down her hand and dripped into the ground.

She started to sway, falling back. Lucas dove to catch her but he disappeared before he hit the ground. There were no distant voices in the forest anymore. Missy disappeared too. All that was left was Maya and the green grass tickling her cheek, and the blue sky above her, the sky that she'd created, stretching to infinity. And it was so beautiful.


	12. Epilogue

**Well, this is it. thanks for tuning in, for being great readers and reviewers. i have a riarkle fic waiting in the wings right now, and i think you'll like it. it's probably multi-chaptered, but not as much of a beast as this one is. anyway, this has been a long ride, and i really think this fic will always be near and dear to my heart. hope you liked it! much love!**

Prince Lucas awoke on the castle floor, sore and itchy, but feeling better than he had in weeks. "Man, the fairies couldn't have even given me a pillow, huh?" he said, trying to make Maya laugh, or something like that. But then their last moments together came back to him in a rush, and dread pooled in his stomach. He whipped his head towards her, the girl he loved. His breath caught in his throat when he saw that she was still asleep. "No. No, no, no." He pushed himself up and onto the bed, leaning over her. If he was awake and she was still asleep, what did that mean? If after everything they'd been through their journey ended like this - He'd seen Maya like this too many times, but he'd known she'd wake up before. Now, he knew nothing. He pressed a hand to her cheek with stinging eyes, and she didn't so much as stir. Without taking his eyes from her, he felt the presence of three distinct lights come into the room. "Why isn't she awake?" he asked the fairies, still not looking away.

"Patience, Prince," Riley said. "She created a whole world inside her head. It takes a little while to take it apart."

Lucas sagged with relief. He thought he might cry. "But she'll wake up? She'll be okay?"

Zay nodded, looking relieved too.

"I thought - I - How long?"

"Hard to say," Isadora said. "An hour, give or take."

Well, Lucas could wait. He could wait forever if he had to.

-::-::-::-::-::-::-

The fairies had gone to direct the newly awoken members of the palace, leaving Lucas alone with Maya. He thought about what the last week and a half had been like. Terrifying, exhausting, and yet amazing too. Because he'd spent it with the girl he was in love with. He'd danced with her under the stars. He'd kissed her next to the lake. He'd listened to her breathing in the middle of the night.

He wouldn't trade that for anything. He'd thought he'd loved her before the dream, and he had. But it was nothing compared to how he felt about her now. It was like everything was so much more boring without her. And pointless. And Lucas could say that because he'd been sitting beside her bed for an hour and a half now and he was getting tired of waiting. He still didn't know if Maya loved him back. But he thought maybe that was okay. Just getting to love her was enough. Being able to say that and have it be true.

But finally, almost two hours in, Maya started to stir, and Lucas, despite himself, was nervous. This was the first time they'd be together in the real world. Everything here looked uglier except for her. Was it going to be the same? And he was a little worried for her. The last time he saw her, things weren't exactly looking good. What had happened since he'd left and she'd stayed? Still, he watched her closely, taking her hand in his. Her eyes fluttered open at his touch. Like a fairytale. They looked really blue with the sunlight streaming through the window and shining on her.

"Hey, Huckleberry," she said, softly, the corners of her mouth turning up, and all his worries fell away.

"That was a mean trick, making me wake up before you. A full two hours. What about 'I like you better conscious' don't you understand?"

"Would a kiss make it up to you?"

"Huh, I don't know," Lucas said, jokingly. "I bet you have some pretty bad morning breath." But he was already leaning in. And god, somehow she tasted better in the real world. "By the way," he whispered against her mouth, "the throne room is all decked out for our wedding."

Maya groaned, but the groan dissolved into laughter. "God. I forgot about that."

-::-::-::-::-::-::-

A week passed. There was a lot to do. Technically, Maya was queen now. And her first act as ruler was burying her parents. Lucas was by her side the whole time, but there were a lot of burials that week. At a certain point, it became just another feature of their life. He didn't get to spend as much time with Maya as he had in the woods. Which was both disappointing and to be expected.

His father survived the dream, but had forgotten himself. Lucas hadn't understood at first. But Lucas was only in the dream a fraction of a time as everyone else and he felt immensely changed. It made sense that his dad didn't come back the same person he was before. Lucas let King Joseph spend his time keeping the children occupied with the stories of his adventures, but he dismissed the questions about Lucas' mom. His dad had forgotten her death. Lucas couldn't imagine anything worse than hearing the news of the person you love the most in this world being gone from it a second time, so he didn't really say anything.

And now, here they were. The dead were all buried and the living had to go on. Any way they could. He and Maya stood on the balcony. The sun was setting. This was the first moment of peace and solitude that they'd had since she woke up. Lucas was grateful for it, but he didn't know exactly what to say. Maya took off her crown and held it in her head. "Is it weird that I have the sudden urge to drop this over the edge?" she said, smiling, raising an eyebrow. She might be queen, but she was still the same Maya.

"I have that urge all the time." It was true. Lucas liked staying at Maya's palace. Not having to worry about duty, except for what he owed to the people he loved. "Don't worry about winning over your people. If they're anything like me, they'll fall in love with you on first sight."

"You really did, didn't you?" she shook her head, but it was a fond gesture. He wondered what she was thinking. (She was thinking about their adventures together. How he'd never given up on her. How he had killed demons for her, and ate porridge that he'd hated for her. About everything he'd said to her, and everything he didn't have to say.)

Lucas hoped he wasn't pushing her too far, but he had to ask a question. "Did you? Fall in love with me?" The question sounded needy even to him, but Maya just smiled. He could tell she couldn't wait to tease him.

"On first sight? No, not the second time around," she said. Lucas nodded, looking down at the ground. That was pretty much what he'd expected. "It took a few days."

"Oh." Oh. The grin on his face was instant and contagious, because soon Maya wore a matching one. A warm glow spread throughout his chest. He couldn't remember ever feeling so happy. "So what do you want to do now?"  
"Well, I'm not worried about my people liking me. I'm not going to be their queen."

"What?"  
"I've never liked being a princess, let alone the ruler of a kingdom. I just want somewhere to call home. I've been talking to Farkle, the stable boy. He's way too well read for that job. And he's a lot more ambitious than I thought. Resourceful, clever, and he actually knows what it takes to rule a palace. We're going to make the transition of power between me and him soon. I'll still be a queen, but only in name."

"What are you going to do, then? Are you gonna stay here?"

Maya shook her head. "You know that little village we danced at? I'm told it's real. I've never wanted a life of solitude. But I don't think I want a life of luxury either. I think I'm going to see if I like it there. I have a feeling I will." For the first time during the conversation, Maya looked away from Lucas, a little nervously. "You could come with me. If you want."

"You want me to come?"

"I know you have a kingdom to run. I know that. I know you probably can't. But I wanted to ask you anyway, because… I love you. And I know you love me. And I want to be with you." She shrugged. Simple as that. "But you're king now, huh? So… you probably can't come."

Lucas looked out at the horizon. The forest looked different here, but it might as well have been the same one they'd traveled in. God, he loved her. He loved her so much. And here they were, alive, and grieving in their own private ways, but loving each other, truly loving each other. And she wanted to be with him. She wanted a life with him. He wanted that, too. More than he'd ever wanted anything before. So he looked at her, stayed silent until she looked at him, because he wanted her to see him when he said what we was about to say. The look in her eyes was hopeful and guarded at the same time. And he said the words that he knew would answer her question.

"Did you know I have an older brother?"  
Maya's face lit up. "So you're just a prince?"

"Probably forever."

"Huh," Maya said, leaning in, wrapping her arm around his neck and pulling him down towards her. "Well, now I don't want you anymore."

"That's too bad. Here I was, ready to pack up and go."

She laughed. It was his favorite sound in the world. "Well, I guess a kiss might change my mind."

He knew an order from a queen when he heard it. He kissed her. And that kiss held inside it all the kisses they'd shared, both in the dreaming and waking world. And it held all the kisses they'd get to share for the rest of their lives. How lucky were they to have that? To have that forever. Not everyone was so lucky. But they were.

And so, sealing their deal with a kiss, Just Maya and Just Lucas lived happily ever after, and if not happily ever after, then something goddamned close.


End file.
